Is this it?
by erdi99
Summary: AU Charloe. Bass is gone too often from home and Charlie's had it. The divorce is imminent, or is it? Will they dind their way back to each other or is this it?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**

**Okay, so this popped in my head yesterday as I was reading Charloe FF.**

**It is AU and Bass is a just 15 years older than Charlie. If you guys want me to continue just drop a comment.**

**If I continue this story it will be a few weeks, because I still have a couple of other stories to warp up and RL gets in the way of it too.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"What's going on Charlie?" My mom asks as she hands me a cup of coffee and comes to sit at the kitchen table next to me.

"Bass and I getting a divorce, Mom" I say with sadness in my voice. After eight years together I have called it quits. I don't see another way anymore.

"I knew from the beginning he would do something to hurt you!" My Mother launches into a lecture that she has giving me countless of times, since Bass and I got together.

"Mom…MOM!" I almost shout to stop her mid-sentence. "He hasn't done anything. It is me who has to get out of this marriage. I can't do it anymore."

"Oh Honey, of course it is his fault. After all he is always gone; leaving you with Alex alone at home." Rachel Matheson has never liked Sebastian Monroe. She never once had a good thing to say about him.

"Mom…" I sigh and take a sip of my coffee. "I am only here, so you hear it from me personally and not from a third party. And Bass did what he had to do to support us, since I was still at University as I got pregnant. So please drop it!"

"Fine" My mother huffs and gets up "Do you need anything? Are you going to move back in here?"

"I have found a house to rent and I will be moving there tomorrow. We are going to put the house on the market. I just need you to watch Alex tomorrow so I can get everything done." I inform her. I have been dreading this talk with my mother.

"Yeah…no worries, whatever you need." She tells me and I nod. Time to leave. There is still so much to do.

"He finishes school at 1 Pm and I need you to pick him up. I will pick him up tomorrow night." I walk over to my mother and give her a peck on the cheek, before I leave her house.

Bass and I have been separated for the past month and the divorce papers came last week. I have yet to sign them.

I can't seem to bring myself to pick up the pen and just put my signature on the dotted line. Eight years together, parents for six and married for five.

The only thing I know is that I can't live like this anymore. We don't have a marriage anymore. He is only home for a couple of days a month, before he goes out for another job. He is a civilian contractor for the army, handling dogs which sniff for bombs.

He used to work at an auto shop, but I got pregnant as I was still at University and we needed the money. Bass was supposed to take on only a few of these tours, so that we could safe up money to buy a house. But the money was too good and he wanted to give Alex and me a good life.

Bass changed a lot since he took that job. He has become quieter, loud noises startle him and he has nightmares. I don't even want to begin to imagine what it must be like over there in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I think part of the reason why he goes back out soon after he gets home, is so those nightmares stop, because he has too much time to think when he is at home.

As I get home the house is silent. Our son is at school and Bass is in Iraq, again, which leaves me alone with my thoughts. Which is not a good thing at the moment, because I keep asking myself what could I have done better! Could I have prevented this? These questions are on repeat in my mind 24/7.

My eyes sting as I pack up the rest of mine and Alex's stuff, but no tears come out. There are no tears left to cry, even if I wanted to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note**

**I apologize for the long time between updates, but I wanted to wrap up my other two stories, before focusing on this one.**

**Thank all of you for the reviews, followers and favorites. I am glad I can continue this story **

**I have not been in the military and all military regarding things in this story are purely based on research and my own imagination. I apologize if I got something wrong!**

**Enjoy and stay tuned, because there is more to come!**

**p.s: This story was inspired by another story from a different fandom: The Way We Were by MD14 (Rookie blue)**

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**Sebastian's POV**

"Bass….Bass" Miles shakes my shoulders and I groan.

"What?" I growl and carefully open my eyes. My head is hurting from last nights bender and the loud noises my best friend is making at the moment aren't really helping.

"You know what time it is?" He questions and I throw a brief glance at my wrist watch. My eyes grow big in shock and I throw the blanket off me and get up. Unfortunately my head doesn't agree with the quick movements and I have to sit back down.

"Shit…I didn't hear my alarm….I am going to be late!" I sigh and hang my head low. This is only the second time, I get to spend some time with my son since Charlie left me three months ago.

I just got state side yesterday and went out for a couple of beers with my colleagues. Unfortunately a couple of beers turned into shots and shots turned into me getting home at 0400 hours.

"Instead of drowning your sorrows every time you come home, maybe you should get your act together and fight for your wife and child, you idiot!" Miles says, loud enough for me to wince again. "And tell me again why you are staying at my place, when you have a big house?"

"I can't stay there, I told you!" I say as I get up and make my way to the bathroom. It has to be a quick shower, or I will be majorly late, to pick up my son.

Miles thankfully doesn't press the issue and leaves me be. The reason I don't want to stay at our house is, that I can't stand to be there. Everything there reminds me of Charlie and Alex and how much I fucked up. And I don't know how to make it right.

I took this job, so I could give her and Alex a good life, but had I known what this job would do to me and what it would cost me, I wouldn't have taken it.

With I sigh, I step into the shower, forcing myself not to think about that now.

* * *

Ten minutes late, I pull up in front of Charlie's house. I can see that Alex is already waiting for me on the front steps with a long face, which makes me feel even worse. As I walk up the path, Charlie comes out to meet me. "Hey… he thought you wouldn't make it!"

"I am here now aren't I?" I reply harshly. I am angry at her for leaving me and I am angry at myself that I allowed this to happen. I always promise myself I will be nice and civil when I see her, but that goes out the window as soon as I get within a few meters of her.

"Yeah…" she huffs out "Are you able to take him to school on Monday?"

"Yes" I answer shortly and then focus on my son. "Wow…you have gotten taller!"

Alex rolls his eyes and shoulders his bag. "Told you dad, but you didn't believe me!"

I smile at him and take the bag Charlie is handing me. "Have good weekend, honey" Charlie says and peppers Alex with kisses.

"Moooom…stop" Alex tries to bold but Charlie catches him. The scene that plays out right in front of me makes my heart hurt. _I miss this_.

"What? You are to cool for kisses from your mother?" She questions laughing, places another kiss on top of his head before she releases him. "Have fun!"

I nod at her and then walk Alex to my truck. I help him into the back, put his stuff into the trunk and then get into the driver's seat.

"What are we doing this weekend, Dad?" Alex questions the minute I get behind the wheel.

"I thought we could go camping. Uncle Miles is going to come too and we will have a boys weekend" I tell him and glance briefly into the rearview mirror.

"Sounds great, dad" He replies, but his face says he isn't thrilled about this.

"You don't like the idea?" I question.

"It is just… forget it" Alex says and looks out the window.

"Tell me…what did you had in mind?" I ask and turn around as I stop at a red light.

"There is a comic book and games convention on and all my friends are going" He tells me in a quiet voice as if he is afraid I would say no.

I would prefer to go camping and not spend the weekend in the city, where the smallest noises startle me, but I'd rather have him having a good time and me scared all weekend, than him having a bad time. After all I only get to see him a few days a month and I want him to be excited to see me, not dreading to spend time with me.

"Well then it is settled. I am sure we can convince Uncle Miles to go too" I tell him with a smile. The driver of the car behind me honks the horn and I am being transported to a different place in my mind.

"_Hey Monroe?" Gunnery Sergeant Christopher 'Nutter' Nash questions as he pokes his head into the tent._

"_Yeah?" I reply and look up from Charlie's letter._

"_ETD five minutes" He informs me and I nod._

_I grab my gear and get Max out of his cage. Max is a dog, trained to sniff out Bombs and landmines. This is only my second tour and we have done some great work together._

_Half an hour later we arrive at our destination and all scramble out. We are 100 klicks west from Zarghun Shahr in a small village close to the Pakistani border. We have been coming here for the past couple of days to look for Landmines, so far we haven't found much. The people here are a bit wary of us, but yet friendly and the kids love our dogs._

_We walk towards the edge of the village and start looking. A few kids are playing hide and seek outside, smiling and laughing, while the women watch over them. Suddenly two kids, about five years old decide to hide in a nearby field while the a older kid counts down. Max starts barking and I try to stop them from going in there, but it is too late._

_One of the boys steps onto a landmine and it explodes, killing both boys instantly. My ears are ringing from the explosion and the village people start running towards the field…_

A small hand touches my shoulder, bringing me out of my dark thoughts. "Dad it is green" Alex says and points towards the traffic light. I just nod, turn back around and just make the yellow light.

My heart is beating fast and I try to get my breathing under control, by taking deep breaths, but as that doesn't work, I quickly pull up on the side of the road and get out of the car. "Dad, are you okay?" My six year old son questions and looks out the window.

I am standing there next to my truck, with my hands resting on my thighs and my head hanging low to get myself under control again. "Yeah Buddy, I am okay." I pull back into an upright position and ruffle his hair. I get a weird look from people passing us, but I just glare at them. "But let's keep this between us okay? Don't want to worry Uncle Miles or your mom!"

"Okay" Alex says and then adds "Can we get some ice cream?"

"Yeah Bud, later" I say as I hop back into the car.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note**

**Thank you very much for all the comments, they mean a lot to me and they are a great encouragement to keep going.**

**Stay tuned!**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

I sigh as I close the door behind me. I have a whole weekend without Alex ahead of me and I already miss him.

On my way to the living room I grab myself another cup of coffee. Like every morning I glance at the unsigned divorce papers on top of the Living room table and like every morning I can't bring myself to put my signature on the dotted line.

It has been three month and I haven't even taken of my wedding ring, except for work. I guess that part of me is still holding out hope that we can work out our differences, that he will fight for us, but nothing has happened yet and I am unsure if it ever will.

I sigh again and make my way to the couch. It's my day off and I don't know what to do with myself. Just as I get comfortable, my phone rings and I fish it out of my pocket to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey Charlie, I am sorry to disturb you, but can you come into work? Nigel has called in sick and I can't reach anyone else" Nora Clayton, my best friend and co-worker replies.

"No worries, I am on my way." I assure her, before hanging up. In record time I get dressed for work and I am actually quiet happy to have something to do. I would go stir crazy in this empty house.

* * *

I park in the Employees parking lot at Train and Rescue and get out. Nora just stepped out and is greeting me with a big smile. "I am glad you could come in. It has been a crazy day!" She says and lights her cigarettes.

"No worries. Bass has Alex and I have nothing better to do" I answer.

"He is in the city?" Nora questions with a raised eyebrow and a stony face. Nora and Bass never got along and it was mutual dislike on first sight.

"Yeah, he got back yesterday" I reply and make my way towards the front door. "I will see you in there!" I get a nod from her and I enter our office.

Train and Rescue is a company which specializes in rescuing animals and training dogs for the Police. I actually graduated with a Major in Business from the University of Chicago, but couldn't find a job. I had a family to support and we weren't getting by with only Bass' s contractor salary. The owner, Mr. Darren Clayton is my mother's neighbor and Nora's dad. He approached me, asking if I could clean cages for him again every day for a couple of hours. I used to work for him after school and on school holidays too.

Six years down the road I am still here. I slowly moved up the ranks, from cage cleaning to dog training and Animal rescue. I really like the work and don't want to go back into the world of business. I can't imagine being stuck behind a desk for the rest of my working life. This job gets me out and about and Alex loves coming here after school and play with the dogs.

"Hey Charlie" Kayla waves, from her office as I walk past. She is a lovely 53 year old African American woman, who loves fluorescent hair and nail colors. Even though she is the nicest person in the world, she runs this office with a drill sergeants attitude and you really don't want to get on her bad side. We all like to keep her happy, because her angry side is quiet scary.

I wave back at her and make my way to the back yard, where Ninja, a German Sheppard, has her house. Ninja is our office dog. Visiting her is the first thing I do when I get to work, and she knows that I always have treats in my pockets.

Just as I reach her, Mason, a student who works for us part time, shouts "Charlie we have a call!" I nod at him and pat Ninja on her head.

"Sorry girl, duty calls, but you and me will have some one on one time later on" I assure her and throw a dog biscuit in the air. Ninja jumps and catches it. With one last pat on her head I make my way to the Rescue car.

* * *

"Hey, we are from Train &amp; Rescue. You called about an escaped snake?" Mason says as we get to the front desk of Tom Neville's Insurance Agency.

"Good that you are here…That thing is a monster... Really big and scary" The blond receptionist informs us and guides us towards the back of the office.

I groan inwardly. Big Snakes and I don't get along that well. Every time I am in the vicinity of one, they seem to get aggressive.

"I will handle it. You just hold the bag" Mason says and I shoot him a grateful look. I was bitten once by a rattlesnake in my own back yard. I didn't see it as I was clearing away weed and it bit into my forearm. Thankfully Bass was home that day and he was able to catch the snake and drive me to the hospital in time.

We walk into the room that the receptionist motioned to and I nearly start to laugh. It is a small Scarlet King snake and isn't big and scary at all. Scarlet Kingsankes are not venomous and get up to 1 meter long, but this one is only about 30 centimeters, far from the monster the secretary described.

We quickly remove the snake and bag it. On our way out of the office someone behind us calls "Charlie?" and I turn around and come face to face with my high school crush Jason Neville. "I thought it was you. What are you doing here?"

"Hey Jason" As he shoots me a smile, I blush a little more. "I rescued a snake from the good people of this office."

"I needed saving…" I hear the secretary mumble, before she makes her way back to the front desk.

"That snake must have been bored to death with all that insurance talk!" Jason replies with a small smirk.

"JASON" I hear a voice shout from another office and seconds later Tom Neville comes through the door. "You got those files?"

"Yes, dad!" Jason looks at his dad before looking back at me. "Dad, this is Charlie Matheson, we went to high school together."

"Ahh you are the Ben's kid, right?" Tom questions.

"Yes I am" I have to wince slightly at my maiden name. And I feel a pang of guilt that I didn't correct him.

"Ah how is he?" the older Neville probes further.

"Actually he died a few years back." I look over my shoulder and see Mason waiting for me. "I am sorry but I have to go. It was nice to meet you Mr. Neville; good to see you Jason." I shake hands with both and then walk out.

I don't really like talking about my father's death. I was at school when it happened. My Dad had worked the whole night through and was just on his way home, when his car was high-jacked and he was shot. First responders didn't get there quickly enough and he died on the way to the hospital.

They found the high-jacker a couple of months later and he is now serving life sentence without parole. I was 15 and the last thing I told my Dad that he was ruining my life, because he didn't want to let me go to a Party that was happening that weekend.

"Hey Charlie" Jason calls after me and as I turn around I see him coming with long strides towards me.

"Yeah?" I question.

"Uhm… Are you free tomorrow night? If so, would you maybe want to get some dinner with me to catch up?" He asks and my heart stops. _Jason Neville is asking me out!_

"Uhm… Can I call you?" I say and he immediately hands me his card.

"My private mobile number is on the back." Jason replies and then turns around to walk back inside.

The rest of our shift is very busy. We go from one call to the next and don't catch a break. 10 hours later I finally get to go home and fall straight into bed.

* * *

"Hey mom" Alex says as he calls me the next morning.

"Hey… How are you?" I question and push myself further up in bed. A look at the clock tells me it's 10.30 am and I groan. I slept 12 hours and only woke because my phone was ringing. Today is Sunday and I planned on doing some yard work and get the washing done.

"I am good. Guess what?" Alex replies enthusiastically.

"What darling?" What ever he has to tell me it must big something good.

"We are going to the Comic and Games convention today. Tyler and Darryl are coming too, even Uncle Miles said he will join us" I can almost hear him bouncing up and down of excitement and smile. I wanted to take him, but since this is the only weekend Bass is home, I wanted Alex to spend some time with his father.

"Wow, that is great. Are you excited?" I question.

"Yeahhhhhhhh I am" He replies in a loud scream that I have to hold the phone away from my ear. "Oh…wait Mom. Dad wants to talk to you!"

"Okay darling" I tell him.

"Charlie?" Bass's rough voice comes through the speaker.

"Yeah?" I say, trying to get my heart rate back under control. My stupid body betrays me every time I talk to him. I feel like I am 18 again, getting a phone call from the guy I am head over heels for. I still love him and I miss him, but I just cannot continue the way it has been.

"I hope it is okay that I take him, instead of you. He really wanted to go" Bass says in a quiet voice.

"No worries, that is fine. Have fun" I reply.

"Yeah…ughh thanks" He answers and then hangs up. Leaving me looking at the phone in confusion. I didn't even get a 'See ya'.

I go through my morning routine and then gather all the dirty clothes to put them in to the washing machine. As I go through my work pants pockets, I find Jason's card. I totally forgot that he gave this to me.

After debating with myself weather to call him or not, for the better half of an hour, I finally pick up the phone and dial his number.

"Hey Jason?" I question as he picks up "Uhhh… This is Charlotte…uhm Charlie."

"Hey Charlie, here I thought you weren't going to call and I had to track you down." Jason answers and makes me smile.

"Well…sorry about the long wait" I reply, not knowing what else to say.

"So dinner?" He questions.

"You are very persistent…how do you know I am not calling to tell you I can't make it?" I answer in a teasing tone, before I can catch myself.

"You could have easily not called and left me wondering if I lost my charm!" He replies without missing a beat.

I have to laugh out loud at that. "Actually… Can we do Lunch instead?" Lunch isn't as formal as Dinner. And in my head I keep repeating '_It is just a meeting between old friends. It is not a date.'_

"Lunch it is. I will pick you up at 12.30. Can you give me your address?" Jason replies and I rattle of my address before hanging up.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**

**Thank you very much for the kind comments, they mean a lot to me **

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

"Urgg… I don't know what I was thinking. I can't go on a date!" I tell Nora, who is sitting on the bed next to me. I called her in a panic moment after I hung up with Jason.

"I thought it wasn't a date?" Nora questions with an amused smile.

"It is NOT a date" I reply and get up to inspect my wardrobe again. "And I might as well call and cancel, because I have nothing to wear!"

"It is just Lunch, so you don't need anything formal. Wear your black jeans, flip flops and a nice top." Nora says as she gets up from the bed and comes to a stand next to me. "And you are not going to cancel on him. I have been telling you for the last few weeks, that you need to get out and meet people your own age. I am not saying you should sleep with the guy, just have some fun!"

"Okay…It is just that I haven't been out with someone other than Bass in the last seven years." I sigh and hang my head low. "I feel guilty."

"No need to feel guilty. He hasn't been around and you left him. It is time to move on." Nora replies and starts pulling out clothes for me to try on.

* * *

At exactly 12.30 the doorbell rings. I am glad that Nora was there to help me get dressed, since Jason is also just wearing Jeans and a black button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. He looks very much like a GQ cover model.

"You look great" He says with a smile and I grab my back from beside the door and step outside. It is a nice, late spring day. The sun is shining and it is about 25 degrees. "Ready to go?"

"Yes" I smile and lock the door. Nora left five minutes ago and in those five minutes I contemplated multiple times weather to cancel or not.

"Good, because I am starving" Jason shoots me another smile and guides me towards his silver BMW M3. I only know that this is an M3, because my mother had it as a company car for a while.

After an un-eventful drive, with some nervous chatter, we pull up at the Blackbird Restaurant on Randolph St. I have heard that this place has the best burger in town _(A/N this is based on a Webside, if someone from Chicago disagrees I am sorry!)_, but never got around to actually come here.

"What have you been up to since high-school?" I question, after we placed our order.

"Well, I travelled through South America for a while and then started working at my Dad's firm, while getting my degree in finance. I graduated last year and now work for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago." Jason informs me.

"Isn't that a little boring?" I retord.

"Not if you are really into numbers" He replies with a smirk. "What about you?"

"Uhh…well I went to the University of Chicago and got my degree in Business. But started to work part time at Train &amp; Rescue after I had my kid…" I glance at him to gauge his reaction.

"You have a child?" He questions with a bit of surprise.

"Yes, Alex. He is six years old as of Januray 15." I tell him with a smile.

"Wow, congratulation." Jason replies honestly.

"Thank you. He is a pretty smart kid." I reply and in that moment our starters appear and the conversation stops for a few minutes.

"So what happened then?" Jason asks as our soups are taken away.

"Well I finished my degree, but couldn't find a job. So like I said I started part-time at Train &amp; Rescue. And now I can't imagine leaving that place for an Office job." I conclude.

"How did you do University, work and child care? Wasn't that quiet the challenge?" He questions.

"I had help" I tell him. Which is true. I had help, from my mother and Miles. I just don't know how to tell Jason that I am married. "So tell me more about your job!" I say, hoping he will take the hint of a subject change.

Jason ends up telling me all about the challenges of the world of Finance for the rest of the meal.

* * *

"I had a good time" I tell him as he walks me to the front door. "Thank you for Lunch."

"No worries. I had a good time too." Jason replies as I unlock the door. Suddenly his strong hand wraps around my arm, he spins me around and his other hand cradles my face. "I already wanted to do this in high-school" Jason whispers and then closes the distance. The kiss is nice and sweet, but comes with a huge amount guilt too.

"Jason…I have to tell you something" I tell him as I push him away.

"What is it?" He questions, as he is running his thump along my lips.

"I am married" I inform him and he immediately pulls away. "But we have been separated since three months."

"That still doesn't change that you are married, Charlie" Jason replies a little harshly. "I…I gotta go. Have a good day."

"You too" I reply and can't help but feel sad, that my first date or lunch meeting or what ever you want to call it turned out like this. But I can't help the fact that I am married. Maybe I should have been honest with him, from the start.

I watch him get back into his BMW and drive off, before I enter the quiet house. I look at the clock and realize it is only 2.30 pm. Still a lot of time in the day left and I have nothing to do.

* * *

"Hey favorite sister in law, how are you?" Connor Bennet's voice rings through the line as I answer the ringing phone. Connor is Bass's half-brother. His Dad had a brief affair with their neighbor as him and Bass's mom were separated for a while. Connor is the result of that affair. His mom dragged him to Mexico and Bass only found out about his 15 years younger half-brother after his entire family was killed in a car crash.

It was a shock at first and but Bass tries his best to stay in touch with Connor, who was 9 at the time. So now whenever Connor is in the area, him and Bass are inseparable.

"I am good how are you?" I question with a smile. "Have they let you back into the country?"

Connor chuckles on the other end. "I am good and yes they have. Even without trouble. Who would have thought a clean shave will help me pass through border control easier?"

"Well you did look a bit like a shady person the last time, so I can't blame them for picking you out of the line" I answer with a laugh as I think of the phone call I received from Border control.

Connor works as a Travel guide. He leads Tours all over South America and often forgets to shave on those trips. He thinks the beards makes him look badass and more grown up. Border Patrol didn't quite like his look and called me for verification that I know him. Not only his look but him on Border Patrol's radar, but also the fact that he travels to Mexcio and back to the states every few months.

"Well this time I didn't want them giving me a full cavity search, so I shaved!" Connor sighs and I can hear that he is grinning. "On another note, I am in town for a week and really like to crash on your couch again, since Miles's couch is occupied."

"By whom?" I find myself asking.

"You don't know?" He replies.

"What?" I question confused.

"Bass is sleeping there!" Connor replies.

"Oh…okay. Well then come on over. I will be here all day." I tell him. On one hand I am surprised that Bass isn't sleeping in our house, on the other hand I am not.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Why are you not staying at the house?" I question._

"_Babe, it feels empty without you guys. And starring at the walls and our pictures makes me miss you guys even more" My husband informs me over the phone._

"_Bass…" I sigh and in the background I hear Miles telling his best friend to grow a pair, which has me laughing out loud._

"_You just laugh. This isn't funny." Bass replies._

"_Bass, we are only gone for a two days" I reply. Alex and I are visiting My brother in New York and Bass couldn't come, because he is training for his new job._

"_Two days too long" Bass mutters and makes me laugh again._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"I will be over tonight" Connor assures me, bringing me out of the past and back into the present.

"Okay I will see you then" I tell him and we hang up.

My eyes fall onto a picture, taken when we just started dating seven years ago. I am running away from Bass, who has a water gun in his hands and is chasing me towards the cameraman. We both are spotting huge grins. This was taken by Miles after a baseball game and it is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.

With a sigh I move up the stairs to get the stuff for the fold out couch, trying to put thoughts about our past out of my mind.

**Loved it? Hated it? Leave a comment **


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note**

**Thank you very much for your comments **

**I love how all of you liked that the date with Jason went badly.**

**Here is more… (Just don't hate me at the end of this!)**

**Erdi**

* * *

**Bass's POV**

My phone rings and I draw my eyes away from Alex who is playing a video game with his friends. '_Connor_' is flashing on the screen and I pick up immediately. I haven't seen my brother in four months and we only talked once since Charlie moved out.

"Hey pain in my ass, how are you? You state side?" I ask as soon as I pick up.

"Good to hear your voice too, big bro. Yeah I am. I was just checking if you want to grab dinner tonight?" My brother replies.

"I have Alex for the weekend, so we gotta go somewhere kid friendly" I answer.

"Yeah I know, Miles told me" Conner answers and I shoot Miles a glare, who just shoots me an '_I am innocent'_ look.

"So you call Miles, before me? Good to see how much you love me!" I answer with a grin.

"Didn't call him, brother. I texted him a few days back if I could crash on his couch. He told me that you would be occupying it this weekend. What is up with that by the way? You have a great house and bed, which I am sure, is more comfortable than Miles's couch." Connor probes.

"It's complicated" I don't want to get into it while Miles and Alex are just standing a few meters away from me.

"Maybe you should get your head out of the sand, fight for your woman and move back into the house." My little brother tells me.

"Drop it Connor" I growl.

"Okay…okay..." He says defeated. "I will come over to Miles's house at 6 pm. Now let me talk to my favorite nephew!" Connor orders.

"He is your only nephew" I mutter and walk over to my Son. "Alex… Uncle Connor is on the phone. He wants to talk to you!"

Alex snatches my phone and immediately starts talking a mile a minute, before he stops and listens to Connor. "Okay… But can Mom come too? Okay…" He says and then hands me the phone back "Uncle Connor wants to talk to you again!"

"He wants Charlie to come to dinner, doesn't he?" I question as soon as I bring the phone back to my ear.

"Yes. Is that okay with you?" My brother questions with concern.

"It's fine. Bring her." I tell him and hang up. A whole dinner with Charlie is going to be interesting. We haven't spent more than 5 minutes in each other's company since we split.

* * *

"Alex? Are you ready?" I shout up the stairs and only get a faint "Coming" as answer.

There is a knock on the door and before I even get a chance to open it, Alex runs down the stairs and opens the door himself. "MOM" He shouts and launches himself at Charlie.

"Hey" She says and hugs him tight to her chest. My heart aches seeing this play out in front of me.

"Hey bro" Connor says as he steps into the house and around Charlie and Alex. I pull my brother into a tight hug. I miss spending time with him.

"It is good to see you" I reply and let go of him.

"Where is Uncle Miles?" My son questions and looks at me.

"Why don't we go and look for him?" Conner says and pushes Alex further down the hall way, which leaves only me and Charlie standing awkwardly in the doorway.

Charlie is the first to break the deafening silence between us. "Hey Bass, how are you?" I can feel her eyes on me, but I can't bring myself to look at her.

"Good" I reply shortly and then turn around to follow Alex and Conner.

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

I watch Bass retreat towards the back of the house and sigh. I get that he is angry and mad at me, but we have a son together and we need to learn how to deal with being in the same room. Lunch will be interesting.

As Conner first mentioned me coming to Lunch I told him flat out 'No', but he told me Alex wants me to come, so I agreed. I mean what could go wrong in a restaurant full of people?

I walk after Bass and find them in the kitchen. As Miles spots me his frown turns into a huge grin. "Charlie, thank god. I am going stir crazy having my house invaded by your rug rat!"

"Now you know, why I wanted to get rid of him for the weekend" I reply and draw Miles into a hug.

"I am not a rug rat" Alex chips in with a pout and we all laugh.

"You sure about that?" I reply with a teasing smile and tickle him.

"Mom…No…no….no" Alex screams in between laughs. Suddenly there is a big growl and I stop.

"Sound like the beast is hungry, _again_!" Miles laughs and ushers us all out of the house. Bass, Alex and Miles pile into Bass's truck and Conner and I take my car.

* * *

"Will you two ever speak to each other again?" Conner questions as we stop at a traffic light. He insisted on driving and after five minutes of arguing back at my house, I reluctantly handed over the keys.

"Conner…" I sigh and turn my head to look at him. "I don't know. He is mad at me and I don't blame him. I left him; he has every right to be angry."

"If you two just talked, maybe you could patch things up." He replies and I roll my eyes.

"You sound like Alex" I mutter. Thankfully we pull up into the parking lot of the Steakhouse at that moment and the conversation is dropped.

Once we are seated and ordered our dinner, Alex launches into a full explanation of how cool the comic and games convention was. I try to concentrate on what Alex is saying, but I can feel Bass staring at me. But every time I look over, his eyes are directed at Alex.

Suddenly my phone rings and everybody's eyes fixate on me. I retrieve the offending device out of my bag and pick up without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey…uhm Charlie?" Jason questions warily.

"Hi Jason" I cringe slightly as I say his name. I look up and Bass is definitely staring at me this time. I feel a small blush creeping up my cheeks and look away.

"Hi…so I am sorry how I left things. For some reason… the fact that you are married, threw me off guard, since I thought it was a date." He replies and I throw an apologetic glance around the table, get up and walk outside.

"I am sorry I didn't tell. I just didn't know how to bring it up and I wasn't sure if it was a date or not." I reply honestly.

"Well…then how about a do over?" He questions "You and me, a proper date. Next Friday?"

"Sounds good" I answer and can't help the smile that spreads on my lips.

"I will call you" Jason assures me, before saying '_goodbye_' and hanging up.

"Work?" Conner questions as I join them again. While I was talking on the phone our dinner arrived and I immediately dig into my steak and mash potatoes in a peppercorn sauce.

I only reply "No, not work" and continue eating.

"Who is Jason?" Bass suddenly questions and fixates his gaze onto me. His face doesn't give anything away. He doesn't show any emotion anymore. I know that he was in the army for a couple of years as he and Miles turned 18, but he only picked that blank face up, after he started to work for them again.

"I went to high school with him" I simply reply.

"Is that Jason Neville?" Miles asks and looks around Conner at me. I barely suppress a groan. Miles knows Jason Neville, since he used to coach the baseball team Jason played in. And Miles knows that I had a crush on Jason, because Danny read my diary and blurted it out one night at the dinner table.

"Your high school-crush?" Bass growls out and as I don't bother to answer, he adds "You already got yourself a new boyfriend? …That is just perfect."

"Bass" Miles and Conner groan out at the same time, but Bass ignores them. I cast a worried glance over to Alex, who seems to be totally oblivious to what is going on around him and just concentrates on his fish and chips.

"No, I haven't gotten myself another boyfriend" I hiss.

"Well you are definitely sleeping with him, judging by that smile you have on your face" Bass retorts angrily.

"I am not sleeping with him and it is none of your business" I can feel my anger level rising.

"Of course it is my business, since Alex is living in your house. I don't know what kind of weirdoes you sleep with, but I know that I don't want them around my son." He says in a raised voice and the people from other tables are looking at us to see what is going on.

"You think I am sleeping around?" I question in disbelieve and then turn around to Conner. "Give me the keys."

"Charlie…." Conner sighs, but hands the keys over nevertheless.

"Eat my foods so it doesn't go to waste" I tell him and then move around the table to Alex. "I have to go pumpkin. I will see you tomorrow afternoon after school, okay?"

"Why do you have to go? You haven't finished your food and you know that it will rain tomorrow if you don't finish it" Alex replies and makes me smile; erasing a bit of the anger I am feeling towards his father at the moment.

"Uncle Conner has agreed to finish it and I think you should help him, just in case!" I reply, kiss his cheek and then throw one last glance towards Miles and Conner, before I leave.

Once I am home, I pick up the pen next to the divorce papers and sign them. Then drive back around to Miles's house and drop them through the slit in the door, all the while tears are running down my face.

It is truly over. There is no hope of reconciliation. I am done. I fought for the last two years for our marriage and maybe I thought me leaving him will give him a wake-up call, but that truly back fired on me.

Nora is right, I need to move on. Maybe I can find someone else. Maybe I can fall out of love with Bass and fall in love with someone new.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note**

**Thank you once again for all those comments.**

**Here is another one **

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Bass's POV**

Conner and Miles haven't spoken one word with me since Charlie left. I couldn't stop those words from slipping out of my mouth, even if I wanted to and I could kick myself right now. Jealousy is ugly and mixed with anger it can be really nasty.

Thankfully, Alex is oblivious to what happened; he seemed to find his dinner more interesting than our Adult conversations.

I pay as the waitress brings the check and the only one who is chatting the whole way home is Alex. As Miles opens the door, a brown envelope is lying on the ground. My best friend hands it to me and says "Maybe this is the wake-up call you need!"

"You can be a real asshole, big brother" Conner adds and shakes his head. "Come on Alex; let's see if Uncle Miles has some ice cream hidden away."

I look down at the envelope and immediately recognize Charlie's hand writing. I know what this is and I have been waiting for her to give these to me since she told me she was leaving. I have no idea why she waited so long.

I sit on the couch, which Miles has on his front porch, and open the envelope. I knew what was in it just by seeing the envelope, but yet the words _'Application for Divorce'_ hit me like a ton of bricks. Tears form in my eyes, but I force them back down.

I'd do anything for her and if this is what she wants, then so be it. I don't want to keep her from a better life. From someone who can make her happier than I ever could. I have issues, a huge truck load of issues. The nightmares and flashbacks are just two of those issues. She doesn't deserve an old fucked up man by her side.

"Here, drink this!" Miles orders and brings me out of my thoughts. I don't know how long I have been out here starring at these papers and only now I realize that my hands are shaking like crazy.

"You got a pen?" I question, as I drown the glass of whisky Miles handed me.

"You are not signing those papers!" Miles says sternly.

"I sure am. This is what she wants, this is what she gets. She deserves better Miles!" I answer. Miles suddenly produces a bottle of whiskey out of his back pocket and pours me another glass, before sitting down next to me. "Remember those were your words, as I told you Charlie and I are dating."

"Yes I know that those were my words, along with a bunch of other crap I said to you that day" Miles replies and takes a sip from his own glass of whiskey. "But you also know the words I said to you just a few days later."

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Miles" I am surprised to find him at my door step, since we are not on talking terms at the moment and it is 8 am in the morning. "What are you doing here?"_

"_You will treat her well?" His voice sounds rough, as if he partied all night long._

"_Yes, of course" I reply without a doubt._

"_Okay then." He says and pushes past me into the house and walks straight towards the kitchen. "You got any coffee?"_

"_The pot just finished" I answer, close the door and follow my best friend._

"_I am sorry. What I said was wrong…" Miles starts, but I interrupt him._

"_No…you were right. I don't deserve her and I don't know why she likes me. But I know she is someone who makes me happy and I hope that I make her happy too…"_

"_She told me that you make her happy and I should butt out of her life" Miles replies with a smirk and I can't help but smile too. "So this is me butting out. You are a good guy, Bass. I don't think anyone ever will be good enough for her, but you come pretty damn close."_

_End of Flashback_

* * *

It is the closest to a compliment I ever got from Miles. "Yeah I remember. But things have changed Miles…I have changed. Hell she left me, because she can't stand me being away all the time. Add those nightmares to it and she definitely deserves better."

"Then quit your job, like she asked you to do a million times" Miles retorts.

"You know our economy is shit. What am I supposed to do without a job? Alex goes to a private school, we have house payments…" I count up and even to my own ears it sounds like a bunch of excuses.

"Stop making excuses and look at the bright side. If you quit your job, you can actually see your son grow up. Those nightmares and flashbacks, and don't think I haven't noticed, will stop eventually too and if they don't you can get professional help" Miles replies and refills my glass. "And on top of everything, you can fight for your marriage with Charlie, unless you don't love her anymore?"

"She is it for me, Miles. There will never be someone else" I snort, as if anyone could fall out of love with Charlotte Matheson.

"Well then get you head out of the sand and fight for her, because if you don't there will be someone else eager to take your place" With that Miles gets up and leaves me alone. One look at my watch tells me that Alex should be in bed and I should start to pack. I am going back to Iraq tomorrow for six weeks, which means I have six long weeks to think really hard about what I want to do.

* * *

"Hey buddy?" I say as I come to a stop in front of Alex's school the next morning.

"Mh?" Alex replies sleepily.

"Take care of you and your mom okay?" I ask and get a nod. "Come here!" I pull him over the console and into my lap. I hug him tightly to my chest and as usual hope that I will make it back to him.

"Dad can we skype again… when you are over there?" He mumbles into my chest.

"Of course. I will email your mom and set something up okay?" I say and hug him a little tighter. I love him more than anything else in the world and I am glad that he seems to have inherited more from Charlie than me.

"I will miss you" He says and then jerks away and gets out of the truck.

His words are still ringing in my ears as we get to our camp in Iraq 24 hours later. I get settled in and go to greet Max, who is just overly happy to see me, because he knows I have as usual treats in my cargo pockets.

"Monroe!" Nutter shouts across the yard and runs towards me.

"Nutter" I respond as a greeting as the other man gets closer.

"How was your leave?" Nutter got his nickname, because he loves all kinds of edible nuts and he always carries a bag of nuts around with him.

"Short, yours?" I question carefully. Nutter's wife left him three years ago and his mother just recently passed away.

"Arleen was her usual Nagy self, the kids didn't want to see me and dad…well he is hanging in there as best as he can" He replies and shrugs his shoulders. "It's crazy to think I am rather out here than listening to Arleen yap on about all the payments she has to make and that I am not giving her enough alimony. Then I dared to suggest she'd get a job."

"What did she say?" I question with a smirk. I met his ex-wife once and she is a horrible person. Her husband is fighting for our country in a shitty desert and all she thinks of is going to Lunch with the girls and shopping. She burns through his money faster than you can say her name.

"She screamed at me for 15 minutes, before I had enough and hung up on her." He replies with a smirk of his own.

"NASH! MONROE! Sit Rep in 5" First Sergeant Taylor Reese shouts across the yard.

With one last pat on Max's head, we both make our way to the main tent, where meetings take place.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note**

**Thank you for all your kind comments.**

**Here is another one. And the guest commenter: It is answered in this chapter.**

**As I told Monroe-Militia, there will be some hard emotional times coming up for Bass and Charlie. Will they make it? You will have to keep reading to find out :D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

My phone rings and I pick up with a small smile. "Good morning".

"Good morning to you too" Jason replies. "How are you?"

"I am good" I answer. "What about you?"

"Well…I got to sleep next to a beautiful, sexy woman last night, so that definitely improved my mood."

"Is that so?" I question. We have been seeing each other for the past five weeks and last night, he stayed for a sleep over.

"Yes. How about we do that again tomorrow night?" He retorts and I can hear him smiling.

"I can't, I am sorry." I promised Alex we would go to the cinema in the park, if he did all his chores this week and unfortunately for me he did. Now I have to sit through the movie Frozen for the third time this year. "Alex and I are going to the movies."

"Can I come?" Jason questions and I sigh.

"Jason… We talked about this…" I reply. I don't want to let Jason into Alex's life, until I am sure that this is going somewhere.

"Yeah…yeah…you gotta let me meet him at some Point Charlie" He sighs and then ads "Ok, I have to go. Gotta do some work, I will call you tonight?"

"Sure, have a great day" I reply.

"You too, sexy" Jason retorts, making me blush.

It has been five weeks since I signed those papers and five weeks since Bass left for Iraq. My Lawyer said he hasn't received them back, which leaves me to question why he hasn't signed them. I asked Miles, if Bass left them with him, but my Uncle only told me that he doesn't want to get in the middle of this. "That is between you and Bass. If you want to know where he hit the divorce papers, sent him an email and ask him." Miles said with a voice that told me not to bring up that subject with him again.

* * *

I start my car and '_I am walking on sunshine_' is blaring through the speakers. It fit's the weather today; sunshine and not one cloud on the sky.

_woah yeh!  
I'm walking on sunshine , wooah  
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah  
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah  
and don't it feel good!_

I am singing from the top of my lunges and the other drives are looking at me weirdly, but I don't care.

As I get to work, Nora is waiting for me at the front door as usual, with a cigarette in her hand. Judging by the grin she is spotting on her lips, I'd guess that she spent the night with Miles.

"When are you finally going to make it official and tell everybody that you are dating my uncle?" I question as I hug her.

"How do you know about me and Miles?" Nora questions with a raised eyebrow. Those two are still under the impression no one knows that they are seeing each other.

"Two nights ago at Revolution, you two were so entangled with each other, that even a blind man would have seen what's between the two of you." I reply with an eye roll. Revolution is Miles's bar, which he opened five years ago.

"Uhmmm…well did you get Jason laid last night or not?" Nora drops her cigarette in the ash tray and together we walk in to the building.

"No…" I answer with a sigh. "It still feels like I am cheating on Bass."

"Speaking of which have you heard from him?" Nora questions and we stop at the coffee machine.

"Not since he skyped with Alex four days ago" I reply with a sigh.

"Why didn't you ask him about the papers?" My best friend probes.

"Because, I want to keep the mood light. He is in a war zone. He can't be distracted by me constantly asking for those damn papers. Alex still needs his father and I don't want him to die out there. Just because he and I are not together anymore, doesn't mean I don't care about him anymore" I answer and hand one cup of Coffee to Nora and keep one for myself. "Besides, he will be back next week and I will ask him then."

"You are still in love with him!" Nora remarks, hitting the nail right on the head.

"Yes" I answer and hang my head low.

"Then why did you sign the divorce papers?" My best friend probes.

"Because…he won't fight for us. He is constantly gone and I can't help him anymore. He doesn't want my help. And then he accused me of sleeping around!" I am still angry about that.

"Did he really or did you just heard what you wanted to hear?" Nora questions.

"_Of course it is my business, since Alex is living in your house. I don't know what kind of weirdoes you sleep with, but I know that I don't want them around my son"_

"Maybe he didn't exactly say it, but he did mean it!" I concede and drown my coffee. "What is it to you anyways? You don't like him."

"I don't, but he was good to you and Alex. And you were happy. Just be sure this is what you want!" Nora tells me and draws me into a hug.

"You told me to go out and have fun" I mumble into her shoulder.

"Yes I did, because I thought this is what you need. But if it isn't, than do something about the Bass situation." She tells me and lets me go.

In that moment we get a call in and I quickly grab my gear and head out of the door.

Thankfully it is busy day and I don't have a chance to think about Bass, Jason or the divorce papers. As I get home that night, I drop right into bed, grateful that my mother took Alex for the night.

* * *

"I AM COMING" I shout and pull on some shorts and a t-shirt, before making my way down the stairs to open the door.

"Mrs. Monroe?" The officer questions as I finally do open the door.

"Yes?" I answer warily.

"There was an accident. Your mother and Son were involved in a car crash involving multiple vehicles…."The officer starts.

"What…? Where are they now? Are they okay?" I interrupt him and panic arises within me.

"Your mother and son were brought to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. We will take you there." The officer, whose name tag reads Brooker, informs me.

"Okay…" I leave them standing at the open door and rush upstairs to grab my bag and phone.

* * *

"Mom how is he?" I question, as we finally get to the hospital half an hour later.

"I don't know…they…they took him away as we arrived here and I haven't heard anything" My mother answers. I found her sitting in the waiting room of the ER. She has a Band-Aid on her forehead, but apart from that she looks fine.

"I will go and check" I assure her and walk up to the reception.

"Hi, I am looking for my son, Alex Monroe. He was in a car accident." I tell the nurse sitting behind the counter.

"Mrs. Monroe, your son was brought into the OR. I will get a Doctor out here as soon as I can" She replies.

"The OR? But why? What is wrong with him?" I question and raise my voice.

"A doctor will be able to explain everything to you. Please wait in the waiting room" The nurse tells me and I know I won't get anything else out of her.

"What did she say?" Mom questions as I take the seat next to her in the waiting room.

"They took him to the OR. A doctor will be out soon" I inform her and my head makes up all kinds of bad scenarios. "What happened Mom?"

"I was driving him to school and we…we were talking. I suddenly had to break because the car in front of me did too. Out…out…out of nowhere from the right came a car and rammed the right side….Alex…he…he was…Oh shit…" My mother curses and tears start to run down her cheeks. "He was sitting on the right side in the back. And another car hit us from the back as well…there was glass and blood…" My mother puts her head in her hands and starts sobbing.

In that moment a doctor calls my name and I get up to meet him half way. "Mrs Monroe?" He questions and I nod. "I am Doctor Nate Scott. Alex is still in surgery, but I just wanted to update you on his condition."

I nod again and he continues. "Your son has multiple broken ribs, his right arm and leg are broken, a fractured collarbone. Alex also lost a lot of blood, because his internal carotid artery was damaged and he was bleeding internally. We repaired the damage to his artery and are trying to stop the internal bleeding."

"Will he be okay?" I find myself asking, numbly.

"Mrs. Monroe will try everything we can. I will come and find you after the surgery." He tells me and then turns around and walks back into the direction he came from.

"CHARLIE" Miles shouts and comes running through the ER. "How are they?"

"Mom is in the waiting room and Alex in surgery" I inform him and then it hits me that Bass doesn't know about this. "I have to call Bass…" I tell him and take my phone out.

"Okay, I will be in there if you need me, okay?" He assures me and then leaves me be.

I dial the number of Andrew Jones. He works for BlackOps Security, the same company Bass works for. Andrew is a recruitment agent at their Chicago Office. Bass and Andrew used to go to school together and met again as Andrew got his car detailed at the shop Bass used to work for.

They got talking, met a few times for beers and then Bass signed up. Andrew checks in with me every few weeks when Bass is gone and his wife Cilia and I got closer over the years too. We go to the same gym and meet up for coffee once in a while.

"Charlie, how are you? I meant to call you last week, but there..." Andrew says as he picks up.

"Andrew…uhm can you get a message to Bass? It is urgent" I interrupt him. He will be able to reach Bass a lot quicker than I ever could.

"What's wrong Charlie?" Andrew inquires in a worried tone.

"Alex is in the hospital…he is in surgery. I need you to inform Bass. My mother and Alex were in a car accident." I explain.

"Is he okay?" Andrew questions and adds "I will get that Information to Bass and I will try to get him back home immediately."

"He is bleeding internally. The Doctors are still trying to repair the damage" I answer numbly. Everything just seems like a bad dream.

"I will let Bass know. Is there anything I can do? Do you need anything?"

"No, I am good. Just…Just let Bass know" I tell him and hang up.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**

**Thank you for all the comments.**

**As I already told Monroe-Militia, Bass and Charlie will have some hard emotional times coming up. I hope you will stick it though with them.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Bass's POV**

"MONROE" Nutter shouts across the yard and I peak my head out of the tent. "PHONE CALL FOR YOU!"

I drop my washing onto my bed and make my way over to the tent, where Nutter is waiting for me.

"It's from home" He informs me and points at the phone. A bad feeling is putting up shop in my stomach and I grab the device with shaky hands. If Charlie is calling outside the scheduled calls, this has to be serious.

"Charlie?" I question as I bring the phone to my ear.

"Bass, its Andrew." My friend replies and the bad feeling intensify.

"What is going on?" I ask immediately.

"Alex and your mother in law were in a car accident…" Andrew starts, but I interrupt him.

"Are they okay?" I question.

"I spoke to Charlie ten minutes ago and Alex was still in surgery at that point." Andrew informs me and then adds "Listen…I will get you home as soon as possible. I will find someone to take your place, but it may take a couple of days."

"Wait…call Timothy Grant. He owes me." I took a tour last year for him because his wife was due to give birth at any minute.

"Done. I will call you again as soon as I have more information." He assures me.

"Just make sure Alex is okay. And keep me updated!" I reply.

"Talk to you soon, Bass" He says and hangs up.

"Everything okay?" Nutter questions from behind me.

"My son was involved in an accident…he is in surgery" I reply, trying to wrap my head around it.

"You are going home?" Nutter asks and comes to sit next to me.

"Hopefully. Tim Grant owes me a favor, so I hope I will be able to cash that one in" I answer.

"He will be alright, man" My friend claps me on the back and ads "Come on. We leave in an hour, let's get our gear ready."

* * *

**Two days later**

"Thank you for doing this" I shake Tim's hand as we meet on the airfield at 8 am in the morning. The plane needs to refuel and in a couple of hours I get to fly home.

"No worries. I know you would do the same for me, if the roles were reversed" Tim replies. "How is Alex?"

"He is okay. Sleeping a lot. He lost a lot of blood and he coded on the table once" I reply and still can't believe how close I came to losing my son.

"Tell Charlie and Alex I said Hi" Tim says and with that he gets into the waiting vehicle. Tim also lives in Chicago and we went to dinner a few times together with our wives.

18 long hours and one stop over in Istanbul later we finally touch down in Chicago.

"Take me to the Hospital" I order Miles, who is already waiting for me in front of the airport.

"Got it…Glad to see you were able to come home early" My best friend throws me a sideways glance.

"So am I. How is he?" I question. The last few hours I willed the plane to fly faster and tried not to think about the fact that my son is lying in the hospital.

"Good. He is just sleeping a lot." Miles replies.

"Good…good" I say and drift off into my own world. Half an hour later we finally arrive at the hospital and I jump out immediately, just barely hearing Miles shouting Alex's room number. Miles can't stay unfortunately, since he has a bar to run and his employees to pay.

I run up the stairs, down the corridors and stop dead in my tracks as I enter Alex's room. He looks so fragile, lying there with the monitors attached to his tiny body and his arm and leg in a cask. Charlie is sitting next to him, with her head lying on his bed and snoring softly.

I drop my duffle bag silently on to the floor, shrug of my jacket and drape it over Charlie's shoulders. Afterwards I make myself comfortable in the chair on the other side of Alex's bed and set the stuffed animal I brought at the airport onto his bedside table.

A few minutes later a Doctor comes in and checks Alex's monitors. After he is done he motions for me to follow him out. "I am Doctor Scott. Are you Alex's father?"

"Yes, how did you know?" I question curiously. Alex looks more like Charlie than me.

"Name tag on your Duffel bag, Mr. Monroe" The Doctor replies. "Alex is doing well. All his vitals are good and the wound seems to be healing well."

"Will he have any lasting injuries? My wife told me that he coded!" I ask.

"No he won't. He needs to keep his arm and leg in a cask for about four weeks. His fractured collarbone can take up to six weeks to heal. His arm will need to stay in a sling." Doctor Scott answers and shoots me a small smile. "He will be able to run around in no time. Children's bones heal quicker, thankfully."

"Thank you Doctor" I shake his hand and walk back into Alex's room. Charlie and our son are still sleeping, so I pull a book out of my bag and start reading.

* * *

"When did you get here?" I hear Charlie mumble an hour later and I lower my book to look at her. Her head is still resting on Alex's bed, but her eyes are focused on me. She has dark rings under her beautiful, blue eyes, which tells me that she hasn't slept much in the last few days and I guess she hasn't been home either.

"About two hours ago" I reply and place the book on the bedside table. "How are you?"

"As good as can be expected" She replies and stifles a yawn. "I am sorry; I didn't intend to fall asleep."

"You obviously needed it. Why don't you go home and sleep for a while? I will stay here" I suggest, but she immediately starts shaking her head.

"No, I want to be here, when he is awake." She replies stubbornly and I notice that she draws my jacket closer to her body.

"Charlie" I sigh "You are tiered and I assume you haven't eaten much at all the last few days, so please go home. You won't be any good to him in this stage. I will be here all day and night, so you can get some decent sleep. And I am not accepting no for an answer."

"Fine…I will go home." My wife replies "But I will be back for dinner tonight"

"I can live with that deal" I smirk and she rolls her eyes in return.

"I have never been good at negotiating with you" She sighs and gets up. "Call me if anything happens!"

"I will" I say and she walks out the door, just to return seconds later.

"Sorry…here" Charlie says and shrugs my jacked of her shoulders.

"You keep it. Don't need it here" I answer and motion for her to put it back on. "And it is a little chilly out there this morning."

"Thank you" She says and puts it back on. "I will see you later."

"Later" I nod and watch her walk out the door for the second time.

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

I have to stifle another yawn, as I walk down the hall away from Alex's room. As much I want to turn around and stay by my son's side, I can't. Bass is right. I need some decent sleep, which I only will get at home.

I put my arms through the sleeves of his jacked and have to smile at the familiar scent. _God I miss that smell!_

My phone rings in my jeans pocket and I take it out to answer it. _Jason_ "Hi"

"Hey, beautiful. How is he?" Jason questions.

"Sleeping" I reply and as I get into a cab, which is waiting in front of the hospital, I tell the driver my address.

"Where are you?" Jason asks.

"In a cab on my way home. Why?" I question back.

"How come? Yesterday, as I wanted to take you home you refused, what changed?" He inquires.

"Bass is there, looking after Alex. I will go home to shower and sleep. I will be back there tonight" I answer.

"Didn't think he would come" Jason remarks.

"What is that supposed to mean?" His questions are slowly getting on my nerves.

"Well… it means exactly how I said it." He answers.

"His son is in the hospital; of course he would move heaven and earth to come back. And even if he couldn't, I would understand. He can't just leave there, they always need someone there to replace him and that is easier said than done in a war zone" I reply harshly.

Bass is a sore subject between Jason and me. Not only because he is my soon-to-be ex-husband, but also because Jason doesn't understand how a man can leave his child and wife alone for most of the year and risk losing them rather than giving up his job.

"Why are you defending him?" Jason questions just as harshly.

"I am not. I am just saying how it is…Jason…" I sigh "I really don't have the nerve nor the energy to fight with you about this right now. I will call you in a few days."

"Charlie…I am sorry" He replies softly.

"Me too." I tell him and hang up.

Once I get home, I quickly shower and then drop onto the mattress, with a towel still wrapped around my head.

* * *

"I am sorry…" I call out to Bass, who is pacing in front of Alex's room. I didn't hear the alarm I set myself and ended up sleeping in until 8 pm. I had another quick shower and drove past our favorite takeout restaurant, to get some dinner.

"Why are you apologizing?" Bass looks at me with a small smile. "You obviously needed the sleep."

"Yeah I did" I answer honestly. "Thank you!"

"Now, give me that food, I am starving" Bass says and takes the paper bag from me. "He fell asleep again."

"Oh…okay." I am disappointed, that I wasn't here as he woke.

"He asked for you and as I told him you would be back, he was determent to stay awake." Bass smirks. "The little guy didn't quiet succeed at that."

I only nod and carefully push the door open. I smile as I see my son holding the stuffed Meer cat, Bass brought for him, to his chest.

"Doc said he will be ok" Bass says. My heart, that traitor, speeds up a little as I realize how close he is standing behind me.

"He is a tuff little nugget" I smile and look at Bass over my shoulder. "He got that from his father."

Bass turns his head, fixates his eyes on mine and shoots me a small smile. "He had to get something from me."

"He is more like you than you think" I mutter and my stomach chooses that moment to make itself known.

"Well he inherited your stomach…come on let's eat. Even though my stomach doesn't voice it as loud, I am definitely starving." He chuckles and pushes me into the room.

For a moment I relish the feeling of his hand at the small of my back, but then I remind myself that I am with Jason and that I shouldn't be this happy for my soon to be ex-husband to touch me.

* * *

**Loved it? Hated it? Leave a comment.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note**

**Once again, thank you all very much for your comments.**

**This chapter is a little longer than anticipated.**

**I like to remind you all again I have no knowledge about the military, whatever I didn't take of the internet I made up.**

**Enjoy!**

**P.s: I have never seen the movie Frozen, but my friend's son has watched it quiet often and she complained that he keeps on singing the songs.**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

**A week later**

"I don't want to go in there" Alex says for like the millionth time with tears running down his cheek.

"Please Alex. We need to take the car home." I have been trying to get Alex into the car for the better part of the last ten minutes, but he is refusing to get in. I think he is afraid. "There is no other way to get home." I suggested we'd take the bus or subway, but Alex refused those too.

"I will be driving Buddy…and I won't let anything happen to you…I promise!" Bass says and kneels in front of Alex's wheel chair.

"I am scarred Dad" Alex whispers loudly.

"I know buddy, but we have to take the car home. Your mom is going to sit next to you all the way home." Bass assures him and Alex just gives us a tiny nod.

We can finally take him home. The doctor said that in two weeks Alex will get his arm cast off and another four, before the cast on his leg can go. The bruises have faded and his ribs are almost healed.

We all pile into my car and Bass drives extra slow on the way home. For the entire ride Alex clutches my arm as if it is his life line.

* * *

"What do you want to watch?" Bass questions Alex as we get him situated on the couch in my living room.

"Frozen" Alex replies with a cheeky grin and I groan inwardly. He watched that movie at least three times on my tablet in the hospital and he can sing all the songs already.

"Frozen it is" Bass replies and puts the DVD in.

"Can you stay with me?" My son questions, looking pleadingly at his dad.

"Sure…just let me grab a blanket" Bass ruffles his hair and comes over to where I am leaning against the doorframe. "Is it okay if I stay here for a while?"

"Of course… I will get you that blanket" I say and quickly walk up the stairs. This past week has been intense and an emotional rollercoaster. Bass only left the hospital to shower at Miles's place, otherwise he stayed with Alex.

Being so close to him all the time is hard, because I still love him. He can make my heart skip a beat with the smallest things and can make my blood boil in under three seconds.

Suddenly my phone rings and I look at the caller ID and sigh. It is Jason again. He wants to talk, but I don't know if I want to. "Hi"

"Hey, how did the ride home go?" Jason questions.

"Alex refused to get into the car for ten minutes, but apart from that pretty good" I answer, take a blanket out of my closet and walk back downstairs. It's not like it is cold, but I have the AC on and if Alex will be lying all day on the couch, he shouldn't freeze.

"Can I come around later…I haven't seen you in ages" He questions.

"Jason…I don't know. I can't leave Alex alone tonight" I reply and turn the corner into the living room.

"Go out….I will stay with him" Bass tells me and takes the blanket from me.

"Who was that?" Jason asks and his voice instantly changes.

"It's Bass" I answer and walk out of the living room.

"What is Bass doing at your house?" He probes further.

"Spending time with his kid. He helped me bring Alex home" I answer and walk outside.

"Ah okay…I come and pick you up at 7 pm?"

"No…Jason…I want to stay home tonight. It is Alex's first day home." I remind him.

"Okay…how about Saturday? I will pick you up at seven and take you out to dinner" He questions again.

"Sounds good to me" I accept and ad "Have a good night".

"You too" He retorts and hangs up.

* * *

"Here" I look up and see Bass standing next to couch I am currently sitting on. As I moved out I only took the essentials and Miles helped me find some cheap stuff, including this couch. A Month ago I was finally able to afford a new couch, so I put the old one on the deck in the backyard.

Alex and I spend more than a few nights sitting out here looking at the stars and even if it is raining, like it does right now, we are still protected by the roof and can watch the world drown around us.

"Thank you" I say and take the beer he holds in his outstretched hand.

"May I join you?" He questions and I quickly make some space for him. "Thanks" He adds and shoots me a lazy smile.

For a while we sit next to each other in silence just starring out into the backyard. "What time is it?" I question and look at him.

"About 5 pm. Why?" He tells me and takes a sip from his beer.

"Gotta make dinner soon" I only inform him and we fall silent again. Unsure of what to say to one another.

"MOM?" I hear Alex shout from the living room and I jump up immediately, Bass hot on my heels.

"What is it?" I question worriedly as I come to kneel next to my son.

"I am hungry…what are we having for dinner?" He questions with a sleepy voice. Our son has been asleep for the past two hours, missing most of the movie.

"Spaghetti Meatballs" I reply and it earns me a big grin from Alex.

"Can Dad stay?" Alex asks carefully, as if he is afraid that I would deny him that request.

"Do you want to join us for Dinner?" I turn around and look at Bass, who is leaning lazily against the doorframe.

"I can't pass up the chance to have your awesome Spaghetti Meatballs" He replies with a small smile, making my insides melt. That smile, paired with those blue eyes, is dangerous and makes women, and some men, walk into walls.

"Mom…can Dad also stay with me tonight?" Alex probes further, his voice hopeful.

"Sure" I answer and get up. "I will get started on Dinner then" I inform the two of them and hurry out of the kitchen.

"If you don't want me to stay, just say so" A voice says behind me, making me turn around.

"I don't mind" I assure him and turn back to my task. I don't mind him staying here, but the prospect of spending a whole night under the same roof as Bass is making me nervous.

"Okay…" Bass questions and I can feel him coming closer; until he is standing so close that I can feel his breath on my shoulder. "Do you need any help?"

"No, I am good thanks" I tell him, without looking at him. He smells like soap and something uniquely Bass, and that makes it hard for me to concentrate. Once again my heart speeds up a little.

"Okay, just call out if you do need help" He tells me and leaves again. I take a few deep breaths to get my heart rate back under control.

I love and hate how he makes me feel. Bass always had this power over me, where he can make me feel a million different things at the same time, with just a smile or a touch. As I was 17 that was great, but now at 25 and a child to take care off, it just isn't enough.

* * *

**Bass's POV**

"Will you be okay on the couch? Otherwise I do have a blow up mattress somewhere" Charlie tells me, without looking at me, while fluffing the pillow.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Alex and I were talking the entire time and Charlie just sat there silently, watching us. Once in a while I caught her staring at me, but she would always avert her eyes.

"Charlie…It is fine" I assure her.

"I will….just…" She says, points up the stairs and just as she is about to walk out the door I catch her wrist and pull her closer. _God I missed this!_

"Stop stressing, the couch is fine" I say softly and her eyes meet mine. I run my thumb over the back of her hand back and forth and she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment.

I am unsure of how long we stood there like that, but too soon the moment is over and Charlie retracts her hand. "Good night"

"Good night Charlie" I smile and watch her retreating back.

* * *

"_Man…you really were in bed with a woman who had a dick?" I laugh and have a hard time getting myself under control. We just arrived at our next side that needs to be swept and Rick told us how he picked up a transsexual._

"_Yeah…man I have never been this scarred in my life" Rick replies, shaking his head in disbelieve. "And I have been in the Army for ten years now; I didn't think that shit like that would faze me much."_

_We all get out of our Humvee, instantly alert by how quiet everything is. Nutter motions for me and Max to go ahead and sweep as we go._

_As we get to the last house, Max growls and everybody grows more alert. Rick and Tom take the back entrance, Nutter and I the front. On three we all enter the small house and what greets us shocks the hell out of me._

_There is a young boy standing in the middle of the room with a gun. "_وضع المسدس _(Put the gun down)" Nutter tells the kid a few times, but the kid just stands there and keeps staring at us._

_Suddenly he raises the gun and points it at Nutter's head and I am forced to shoot him._

_The kid drops to the ground, onto his knees and stares at me in shock. His eyes are filled with hate and unanswered questions. He falls over onto his side and his dead eyes are still looking at me._

_I can't breathe and I feel sick. I have been doing this job for two years now and I was never forced to shoot a kid, until now._

_As I look at the child again, his face changes from an Arabic looking kid to Alex's face. My child is lying on the ground, with his dead eyes burning a hole into my head._

"_ALEX" I shout and drop next to him on the ground "NO NO NO"_

I jolt awake and take a deep breath. This isn't the first time I have had this dream. It's always the same, I shoot the kid and his face turns into my sons.

My breathing is ragged and I have a hard time getting it under control. But the concern for my son is bigger at the moment so I quickly throw of the blanket and run upstairs to make sure Alex is ok.

I quietly open his bedroom door and look at his sleeping form. _He is fine…He is fine_… Is on repeat in my head. After a few minutes my breathing returns to normal and my heart rate has gone down. I don't know what I would have done, had that been Alex, who was shot.

I know that I didn't have a choice but to shoot that kid. If I hadn't shot him he would have shot Nutter. After that time I had to shoot two more kids and they haunt me in my sleep more often than not.

"Here" Charlie says from behind me, making me jump around in surprise. She holds my gaze as she comes carefully closer with a t-shirt, which looks awfully like one of mine, in her hand. I am rooted to the spot and can't seem to move a muscle.

Charlie puts the T-shirt in between her knees and then pushes the sweaty shirt, which I am currently wearing, up. As she touches my chest in the process of taking my shirt off, my breath hitches and another part of my anatomy comes to life.

"How…" I clear my throat and start over. "How did you know?"

"I heard you come up the stairs. I figured that you must have had a bad dream. You used to do this a lot when you were home. Just stand there and watch him or me." My wife informs me and then takes the clean shirt and pulls it over my head.

"I didn't think you noticed" I mumble and put my arms through the sleeves.

"It's hard not to when you mumble in your sleep, wake up sweaty and then leave for hours at the time." Charlie tells me, steps away and throws the sweaty shirt into the hamper in the bathroom.

I close Alex's door and make my way downstairs, with Charlie following me. "Drink?" She questions, as we get to the kitchen and she doesn't await my answer before pouring us both one. "You need help Bass."

I sigh and sit down at the kitchen table. We have had this conversation before and it always ended the same way; with us screaming at each other. "I can't."

"Stop letting your male ego get in the way of what you need, Sebastian" Charlie retorts harshly, making me wince at her use of my full name. She only does it when she is really mad at me. Charlie drowns her drink and places the glass into the sink. "The fact is: You need help! Like I told you countless times before."

"I can handle it Charlie" I growl.

"No you can't, why do you not see that?" She hisses, mindful of our sleeping son a floor above us.

"Because it isn't true" I tell her and drown my drink too.

"Bass…" She sighs and her tone changes from angry to defeated. "Think of Alex. He needs you around. You will miss out on a lot more, than you already have."

"Why? Are you filing for sole custody?" I question angrily.

"I am already doing the job of two people…I am Mom and Dad, because you are gone all the time. Why don't you get it? You missed out on all the firsts…do you also want to miss everything else?" She cries out and tears start to pool in her eyes. I hate when she cries, even more when I am the cause of it.

"Don't you think I hate being gone all the time…? We weren't getting by so I had to take that job. It pays well enough so you and Alex can have a good life!" I tell her.

"I don't care about the fucking money Bass!" She shouts and turns around, to look out the window. "I get why you did it, but I figured you would quit after a while. I have a good job now… we don't need that money any more. I don't need a new car or fancy things, especially if it is costing you, your sanity and us! Not to mention that it is dangerous over there!" She adds quietly.

"Well I have lost you already, so I don't see what good it will do if I quit my job... Just to sit at home and watch you play family with your new boyfriend? No thank you" I jump out of my seat, to stand. I know I am being unfair, but if I don't have my job, I got nothing left. Charlie has moved on.

She is quiet for a long while, her knuckles have turned white because she is gripping the counter to tight and her shoulders are shaking. I know she is crying and I want nothing more than to hold her, but that isn't my place anymore.

"Then why haven't you signed the divorce papers yet?" Her voice comes out in nothing more than a whisper and she has yet to turn around.

"Charlie…" I sigh and don't know what to say. _Why haven't I signed the papers? Why they are still buried in the bottom of my duffel bag?_ "I don't know." I reply honestly. I really have no answer for that question.

My wife finally turns around, her eyes are red and her cheeks puffy from crying, but she couldn't look more beautiful, in her Snoopy shorts and top. She walks over, stops by my side and interlaces our hands. "Just get help Bass, please." She begs and places a soft kiss onto my left cheek. And then she is gone.

* * *

**Loved it? Hated it? Leave a comment!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note**

**Thank you for all the reviews. They are all appreciated.**

**I apologize if I got it wrong the way the military operates in those kinds of situations further down in this chapter. I am not a military person, so I have no knowledge of it.**

**I just want to speak out a warning for this chapter. It is definitely not Jason friendly. I have never been a huge Jason fan and always thought he was too loyal to his conniving, manipulative dad. So if you are reading this chapter and hoping for a nice Jason, I am sorry, I couldn't write it.**

**You have been warned!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

As I am waiting for Jason to arrive, I contemplate if I am doing the right thing or not. Bass has given me no indication that he is willing to fight for us, but I can't keep stringing Jason along. It is not fair to him.

And I have a bad feeling that he has a mean jealously streak. He nearly blew up yesterday, as I told him that Bass was still staying at my house. Jason doesn't see that it is important to Alex to have Bass around.

"Hey" Jason says as he sits down on the opposite side of the table, bringing me out of my own thoughts.

"Hey to you too" I reply and shoot him a small smile.

"I thought we were going out to dinner, why the change of plans?" He questions as he scans the drinks menu.

I take a sip of my black coffee for courage, before speaking up. I don't know why I chose to do this in a public place. "Listen Jason…I can't date you anymore" I wince as the words leave my mouth. I certainly could have worded that better.

"What?" Jason meets my eyes in shock. "Is this because of Bass?"

"Yes…No" I sigh. "Not directly anyways. You are nice and all, but I am not ready for this." I say and motion from me to him and back. I wince again at my choice of words. I was never the break-upee, until Bass that is, but before him there we only a couple of boyfriends and they always broke up with me.

"You can't be serious" He jumps up, knocks over the chair and bumps the table, making my coffee spill all over the table.

"Jason…I am sorry, but yes I am serious." The other coffee patrons start to stare at us and I am trying to ignore them. I am sure my face is now as red as a tomato.

"After what…two months you are dumping me for your Ex-Husband?" He shouts and I can feel my temper rising.

"Yes" I simply answer and wipe up the coffee with a napkin. Even though my answer isn't quite true, since there is nothing between me and Bass at the moment.

A waiter appears at our table and says "Excuse me…could you please turn it down or I will have to ask you to leave!"

"I am sorry…we will keep it down" I assure him.

"Screw you" Jason snarls and leaves the Café. My face heats up even more and I am close to digging myself a hole to crawl into of embarrassment. I hoped he would take it better, but deep down I knew he wouldn't.

I pay for my coffee and leave. I have no reason to be here any longer and I just want to go home to see my son. Thankfully I don't have to work this or next week, since I have enough overtime saved up.

I get into my car and point it towards my mother's house, because that is where Alex is. Bass had something to do in the city and Alex was excited to get out of the house. Thankfully, this time he didn't put up much of a fuss and got into the car without any complaining.

* * *

**Bass's POV**

"All Right Mr. Monroe. I want to see you back here at least twice a week." Doctor Sullivan tells me and makes a note on her legal pad. "When are you going back overseas?"

"I am not sure at this stage. Probably in two to three weeks." I answer and shrug my shoulders.

"For how long?" Dr. Phoebe Sullivan probes further. She is a 30-something woman, who was recommended to me by Andrew. Apparently she is the best psychologist in town and Black Ops will foot the bill, which is another plus.

"Unsure yet" I answer.

"Okay, just let me know your schedule and we can work around that" Dr. Sullivan says and stands. "It is the right step into the right direction, Mr. Monroe."

"Thank you Doc" I say and shake her hand.

When I step out of her office building the world seems a little lighter than before I went in. I made an appointment the day after Charlie and I had that fight in the kitchen. '_Do you also want to miss everything else?_' kept going through my head that night, so first thing the next morning I called Andrew and he gave me that referral.

At first the appointment didn't go very well. She asked me questions regarding my job and symptoms and I only gave her short answers. I don't want to be weak. I am a man for Christ sake, I can deal with that stuff on my own, but then she asked about my wife and son and suddenly I remembered why I am doing this. After that it went a little better.

She said I had all the signs of PTSD, which made me wince. I am sure there are people out there who have been through worse than I have.

* * *

I pull up at the curb of our old house half an hour later and get out. I lean against my truck and look up at the house that used to have a happy family living in it.

The house is located in a cul-de-sac in a decent neighborhood. It has 4 bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large living room and kitchen with a massive backyard. This was the first house Charlie and I looked at and we instantly fell in love with it. I had to do all the moving by myself, because she was 8 months pregnant, but I didn't mind.

I have some good memories in this house and I would love nothing more to go in and get my stuff, but the amount of pain I will feel as soon as I cross that threshold, hold me back.

I hope by going to see Dr. Sullivan I will be able to get my family back too. I also know it is not just that simple. And I don't want to tell Charlie just yet that I am getting help. I first want to get better, to show her that I mean it and that I am working at it.

I just hope by the time I tell her, it won't be too late.

* * *

"Charlie?" I call out as I enter her house. She gave me a key, so that I was able to come and go as I please.

"I am up here" She shouts back. As I enter her room, I have to smile at the sight that greets me. Music is coming from the radio in the corner and she is swaying her hips to the rhythm, while folding the laundry on the bed.

"Where is Alex?" I question. She jumps lightly, her head snaps around and she shoots me an evil look. She obviously didn't hear me coming up the stairs, which makes me smile even more. I used to do that to her a lot. I love the surprised look on her face.

"Ohh…don't sneak up on me like that" Charlie chides me, with a small smile. We were overly polite to each other, these past few days and only talked to each other when it was necessary.

"I see your jumpiness hasn't changed" I grin and walk further into her bedroom. There are pictures of family and friends attached to the mirror on the closet and I am surprised to find that our wedding picture is among them.

"And I see you can still move like a cat" She retorts.

"Where is Alex?" I repeat my question from earlier and successfully change the subject.

"He wanted to stay at moms." Charlie answers and turns back to the washing basket.

"Chocolate cookies and ice-cream?" I ask, knowing that is exactly what Rachel offered her only grandson to get him to stay at her house.

"Yupp…sugar induced coma inclusive" My wife replies.

"I am going to make dinner tonight. Any preference?" I ask as I turn around to face her. She is wearing a green tank top, denim shorts and her feet are stuffed into red wool socks. It is 40 degrees outside and she is standing here wearing those stupid socks. I never understood that particular habit of hers.

Charlie looks up with a big grin on her face and questions "Mexican wraps?"

"Sure" I say and leave the room, unable to suppress the grin. It is one of the few things I can make and Connor taught me how to make them. Charlie loves them and thinks they are to die for.

After a quick inspection of her fridge and cabinets in the kitchen, I realize that I have to go food shopping. "Charlie you need anything from the shops?"

"No, I am good" She replies and I grab my car keys and leave the house.

* * *

"Oh that was soo good" Charlie tells me and leans back on the couch. We ate outside, since it is a nice night. "I am completely stuffed." She adds and opens the button of her shorts.

"Wow…that is so attractive" Her head snaps up and as she sees my grin, she realizes that I am teasing.

"Fuck off" She laughs and takes a sip of her beer. "Seriously Bass…thanks for dinner."

"You are welcome." I reply and we fall into a comfortable silence.

"I…I just wanted to let you know…that I broke it off with Jason" Charlie informs me, looking down at her fingers, which are peeling off the label of her beer bottle.

"Okay…" I don't know what to make of this. I am relieved to say the least, but does this mean she will give us another shot?

"Do ever think about the night, when you kissed me for the first time at Miles's place?" Charlie questions after yet another moment of silence. If she only knew how often I think about that night

"I kissed you?" I laugh at the fact that she is bringing up this old argument. "May I remind you that you kissed me, not the other way around?" It was the best thing I could have ever done, apart from marrying her and impregnating her that is. Truth is that I don't remember who of us started that kiss, but I will never admit that out loud. I enjoy arguing about this far too much.

"No…No…Bass…you can't deny that you kissed me" Charlie retorts with a laugh of her own.

"I won't" I say and as triumphant smiles spreads across her face, I quickly add "I won't deny that I kissed you, AFTER you kissed me. And you know that is the truth, since you were far more drunk than I was."

"Pfft…I remember everything just fine. You tickled me, we fell and you kissed me." Charlie says with a big smile on her face.

I place my bottle on the ground next to the couch and quickly attack her sides with my fingers. She instantly starts laughing and begs me to stop.

"Bass…no…you are a dead man" She gets out in between laughs. Charlie manages to put her bottle safely onto the ground as well and starts tickling me too.

I trap her beneath me, with both of her hands in my left hand above her head and my right hand tickling her sides.

**Charlie's POV**

Bass stills his hands and I am finally able to catch my breath. As I look up now, I realize that his face is really close and he is looking down at my lips. Bass can ruin my panties with only a small kiss and god knows how much I want him to kiss me right now.

My stomach does a flip and my heart speeds up in anticipation of a kiss from him. I am trapped beneath him, with his hard manhood pressing into the right spot between my legs, if just weren't wearing and clothes this would be perfect.

"Sorry" He mumbles and his breath graces my face. Bass releases my hands and pulls away. "I...uhh… I am tired. I am gonna go to bed." He adds and stands.

"Help me up, please?" I ask and I am able to hide my disappointment. He holds out his hand to me and pulls me out of my awkward position from the couch, right into his arms. "Thanks" I mumble and step away from him.

We clean up the outside area in silence and take everything into the kitchen. "Good night then" Bass says and turns to go into the living room.

"Wait" I call out and he stops dead in his tracks. I quickly walk over and place a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for dinner" I whisper into his ear and as walk away I could swear I heard him growl.

I lay awake for quite a while, since my body only wants to do one thing. And that is go downs stairs, rip his clothes of and have hot and heavy sex with him.

But my heart and head tell me to stay put. I don't want to destroy what progress we made this week. He is too important to me. Tonight I had a feeling he was his old self again. The guy I fell in love with all those years ago.

* * *

**Bass's POV**

"_Charlie…" I sigh and quickly walk over to my highly pregnant wife._

"_I can carry that" She snaps._

"_Babe, you cannot." I state the most obvious and take the box out of her hands. "I told you, that you are not allowed to carry anything heavier than a feather."_

"_I am pregnant…NOT SICK" She stomps her food like a child, making me smile. "Stop smiling you jerk!"_

"_I love you" I tell her and kiss her on the lips._

"_I maybe love you too…but that is a big maybe!" She retorts and walks into the house._

_With the signing bonus I received from Black Ops and my first pay check, we were finally able to make an offer on this house._

_I just got back two weeks ago from Afghanistan and will stay until after the baby is born. I hate leaving her alone so soon after, but I don't have much of a choice. We need the money._

"_That maybe isn't that big, or you wouldn't be carrying my child" I inform her and walk into the house after her._

_BANG_

_I look around and see that the door has slammed shut behind me._

_BANG_

_BANG_

"_BASS WE HAVE TO MOVE" Nutter shouts and ducks behind the wall, as more bullets come flying through the window._

"_How far is the Humvee?" I shout over the noise. We got separated from Tom and Rick as the gun fire started and now we have to find a way out of this mess._

"_About a click north" He replies and we both start crawling towards the other exit of this house. Thankfully Max is staying quiet and keeps close to my side. This is the second time this week that this happens to us. Either someone is leaking Intel or they are following us. Neither one is an appealing scenario._

"_Can you see where these shots are coming from?" Nutter questions through the radio._

"_Mountains." Tom simply answers._

"_Shit…Sniper" Nutter curses._

_I prop myself up to look out the window and a bullet just misses my head by a few centimeters. "They are getting closer. A vehicle is coming down this side of the mountains."_

"_Okay…we get out of here and turn north. I will cover you. Make it to the next house and then cover for me" Nutter relays the plan once more to Tom and Rick, before we execute it._

_Thankfully the other two are able to meet us half a click away from the Humvee and together we make our way towards it quickly. The houses cover us almost all the way, but we unfortunately left the vehicle right in the center of the town square._

"_Cover me" Rick says and makes a run for it. Just as he reaches the door, a bullet hits his thigh and he goes down like a sack of potatoes._

"_RICK" We all shout in unison._

"_I am okay" He replies weakly, pulls himself up into a sitting position and is able to open the Humvee door._

_One after each other we make a run for the vehicle and then pull Rick into the back. Bullets hit the Humvee and we speed out of there as fast as we can._

_BANG_

_BANG_

I jolt awake and take a moment to take in my surroundings and realize that I am not in danger in the Iraqi dessert, but safe and sound at home.

BANG

BANG

"CHARLIE" A Male voice shouts outside and I throw the blanket off me. Without bothering to put on a shirt I make my way to the door; grab Alex's baseball bat, which is sitting next to the stairs, in passing and open the door.

"Jason?" I question. I recognize the kid from Charlie's graduation party.

"I wanna speeeak to Scharlie" Jason slurs and tries to push himself past me.

"She is sleeping, right now. Come back tomorrow" I with that tone that says '_Don't test me or else'_. But of course he didn't catch the draft in his drunken state.

"CHARLIE" He shouts and I gently push him out of the door way, to close the door behind me. "HEY…don't touch me!"

"I just want to close the door, so you don't wake her." I inform him, but in that moment I can see the light turn on upstairs and I know she will be down here any second.

"I wannna speek to herr" Jason repeats himself and tries to push past me again.

"NO…listen buddy, you have to leave!" I push him again.

"You don't own this house…Scharlie told me…so you have no say if she wants to talk to me or n-not. You are just her ex!" He replies and the front door opens in that moment.

"Jason? What are you doing here?" Charlie question from behind me.

"I am sorry…scharlie…I shouldn't have blown up like that…just can I schpeak to you?" Jason question as Charlie comes to a stand next to me. She is wearing a bathrobe and flip flops on her feet.

"Charlie" I warn her, but she squeezes me hand lightly, silently telling me she will be okay. "I will be right behind the door, if you need me."

Without another word I turn around and close the door behind me.

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

I hear the door click and turn back to Jason. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I love you…I didn't mean to get angry. Can we just please just talk about it?" Jason slurs and I can smell the alcohol on his breath from where I am standing.

"Jason…" I sigh. "There is nothing to talk about. I am sorry that I hurt you. But I don't love you."

"How can you say that? You haven't even taken the time to get to know me!" Jason spats.

"We should talk about this in the morning, when you are not drunk. Let me just call you a cab" I say and take my phone out of my bathrobe pocket.

"NO" He shouts and slaps my phone out of my hand. Not even a second later the front door fly's open and Bass comes storming out.

"Jason…I think it is better if you left" Bass growls and comes to stand protectively in front of me. I take a moment to admire is muscular back, before I focus my eyes on Jason again.

"Fine Scharlie…hide behind him…I don't want you anyways, you bitch" Jason shouts and I can see Bass's knuckles turn white. He is close to punching Jason in the head. Jason seems to realize the same thing and backs away. "Fine…fine….I am leaving!"

"Are you okay?" Bass questions as we walk back into the house a few minutes later, after Jason left our street.

"Yeah…just tired." I reply.

"Okay…good night Charlie…if he comes back I won't hesitate to call the cops." Bass lets me know and walks towards the living room.

"Uhm…could you stay with me…maybe?" I ask and as he turns around, I quickly dismiss the idea. "Don't worry…you don't have to…sorry that I asked…Good night Bass."

"I will" He says and is in front of me with a couple of large steps. "Come on…let's go to bed."

"I shouldn't have asked…I am not even sure where that came from. It's not like I am scarred or anything…I just…I just don't want to be alone!" I ramble on as we lie in bed a few minutes later. We are facing each other and even in the darkness of my room I can see him smile. "I mean…"

I can't even finish that sentence before he silences me with a kiss. It starts out innocently and then gets more heated as his tongue begs to be let in. I am more than willing to grant him that. Everything is so familiar yet new. My heart skips a few beats, before it comes back pumping in full force, and my stomach is dancing a samba of excitement.

As the need for air becomes too much, we pull apart and lean our foreheads against each other. "It is clear as day that you kissed me first this time" I say. He laughs and rolls onto his back, pulling against him, so that I can lay my head onto his shoulder.

"Good night Charlie" He whispers and presses a kiss to the top of my head. Soon enough my eyes close and his steady heart beat lulls me to sleep.

* * *

**Loved it? Hated it? Leave a comment, they are much appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note**

**Thank you all for your lovely comments. They are much appreciated.**

**So I had to change one small thing in Chapter 3, because the timeline was adding up. My apologies. I made it now that Charlie used to work for Train and Rescue during High school and during school holidays too. And was approached by the owner again after she couldn't find a job in her field.**

**As much as this chapter seems like the end…I promise it's not. There is going to be another hurdle to come (Author rubs her hands together of excitement :D )**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

"_Holy shit…" I take a deep breath and look at Nora._

"_What does it say?" My best friend questions._

"_It's positive" I tell her and take another deep breath to calm myself down. "He is going to freak and he is going to be so mad…Shit"_

"_Charlie….as much as I don't like your boyfriend, I know he will be happy about this." Nora assures me and guides me towards my bedroom._

"_We only have been together for a little over a year…Shit…" I curse again, as I sit down on my bed. I would love nothing more than to smack myself right now. How could I be so stupid and forget my Pill?_

"_Have you guys ever talked about this?" Nora probes and sits beside me._

"_Sort off. I am only a few months away from being 19, having a child was the last thing on my mind." My heart is pumping as if I just ran a marathon and I put my head between my knees to prevent the panic attack that I can feel coming._

"_Talk to him…see what he says. I am always here for you, if you need me." She assures me and gets off the bed. "I need to go. Dad needs me to work a shift tonight. Call me if you need anything." She adds and before she leaves she gives me a tight hug._

_For the next couple of hours I try to get some school work done, but my mind keeps going to the pregnancy stick which is now hidden in my bathroom. I don't know what to do with a child. I know I wanted kids, but didn't think it would happen this early in my life._

_I love Bass, but I am worried about what he is going to say when he finds out. Is he going to tell me to get rid of it? Is he going to shout at me? Or will he be happy?_

"_Charlie?" My mother calls out, pulling me out of the deep end of my mind. "Bass is here." I didn't even hear the doorbell, that's how deep I was in my thoughts._

"_Tell him to come up" I call back and place down the pen I am holding with shaky hands._

_My mother doesn't know about this yet. I know she would freak and probably shoot Bass with her riffle, which she hides behind the coat hanger downstairs._

_There is a small knock on my door and my heart speeds up even more. How am I going to explains this to him?_

"_Hey" Bass smiles and comes to stand next to my desk. "Let me just quickly shower…I didn't make it home beforehand" He says, after giving me a kiss. Bass makes that blue overall look very good and for a moment I can't help but star at him. "How are you?" He asks with his back towards me taking of his boots. My mind goes blank and all the blood drains out of my face._

_As he doesn't get an answer, he turns around and looks at me. "Charlie?" He looks at me in worry. "What is going on? You are just as white as a sheet of paper!"_

"_I need to tell you something…" I start and tears appear in my eyes. I can't lose him over this._

"_Hey whatever it is…it can't be that bad!" My boyfriend says softly and drags me out of my chair and into his strong arms. I take a deep breath and inhale his scent. He smells like engine oil, cars and something uniquely him._

_Here goes to nothing. "I am pregnant…" I almost whisper and hold on tighter. I can feel him go very still and panic rises within me. "I mean I am pretty sure, since I took a home test…actually multiple…but the Doctor would still need to confirm it…so yeah I am pretty sure that I am pregnant…"_

_As he doesn't answer, I look up into his face and it is as white as the wall. "Bass?" I question carefully._

"_You are pregnant?" Bass says it in an almost whisper, staring at me._

"_Yes" I answer and step away from him._

"_Are you sure?" He questions, as the colour slowly comes back into his face and a small smile spreads on his lips._

"_Yeah, I am sure" I tell him and the next thing I know I am being twirled through the air. "HEY…let me down…" I yelp and can't help but laugh._

"_I am going to be a Dad" He grins and kisses me senseless, until the need for air becomes too much._

"_You are happy about this?" I asked stunned._

"_Yes…incredibly happy. I mean this isn't exactly how I imagined it would go…but I thought we eventually will have kids. I just always figured it would be after you finished College" He replies honestly and sobers. "Are you happy about this? I mean do you want to keep it? Whatever you decide we will deal with."_

"_I think I want this…" I smile. Not once since I found out that I am pregnant, it crossed my mind to get rid of the Baby._

"_Seems like we are going to be parents then" Bass says with a huge grin. "Have you told your mom yet?"_

"_No not yet…But I suppose I will have to soon" I sigh._

"_Well before you do, hide the rifle though. I didn't leave the army to be shot at on home turf." He remarks and I can't help but laugh. I know in this moment that everything will be okay._

"_CHARLIE" My mother shouts from downstairs._

_CHARLIE_

_CHARLIE_

I startle awake with a smile, which vanishes as I hear the shouting voices coming from downstairs. _SHIT._

I quickly throw back the covers and make my way down the stairs.

"Will you keep it down Danny…your sister is still sleeping!" Bass growls.

"I am asking you again…What are you doing here Bass?" Danny shouts and glares at Bass.

"He is here because of Alex and what are you doing here Danny?" I question as I enter the kitchen. Bass is standing there in only his shorts, without a shirt, and it looks like he was making breakfast, before my brother decided to show up.

"Great you woke her" Bass shoots Danny a look, which could send a lesser person running for the hills.

"I wanted to check on you. Mom told me about the accident and I came home immediately. Thought you might need help with Alex." My brother replies. "But instead I find, Alex at Mom's and your Ex-Husband in your kitchen."

"You can't just come over here unannounced Danny. Did Mom put you up to this?" I question, but nevertheless walk over to him and give him a hug. I haven't seen my little brother in months. He is studying in San Diego and only comes home every few months. Our mother said she would tell him about the accident, since I was constantly with Alex in the hospital.

"Mom may have neglected to mention that Sebastian is here" Danny speaks his name with disgust and I hit him over the head. "HEY…what was that for?"

"Stop being an asshole" I say and walk over to where Bass continued to make breakfast. "Smells good."

"Thanks…it should be ready in five minutes. You wanna join us Danny?" Bass questions, without looking at him. But I see the eye roll and shoot Danny a glare.

"I am going to have to talk to Mom about this" I growl and shake my head. She knew Danny's feelings towards Bass and I am sure she also knew that he would kick off, if he saw him here. Both men got along just fine until I made the mistake of calling Danny a few times, crying.

"She just means well." Danny says and sits down at the table. "And yes I would like to stay…I need to talk to him anyways." He says pointing at Bass.

"Danny…" I warn him, but Bass interjects.

"It's fine Charlie." My husband replies and shoots me an assuring smile.

* * *

**Bass's POV**

We only stick to the weather, football and university as breakfast topics and Charlie shoots us both worried glances all the way through breakfast.

"We will be fine" I assure her and press a kiss onto her lips, before I join Danny in the garden.

I woke up this morning fully rested and couldn't help the grin spreading out on my face, as I saw her still snuggled against my side. I actually intended to bring her breakfast to bed, like I used to do early on in our marriage, but Danny destroyed those plans, by shouting around.

I close the door behind me and as I turn around, Danny hits me square in the face. "Ufff…"

"You are a real asshole you know that" Danny growls and shakes his hand in pain.

"I know" I only reply and sit down on the couch. My jaw is throbbing, but I don't think that it is broken. But I will have a nice bruise there tomorrow. I am actually surprised that Charlie hasn't rushed out, maybe she gets that Danny and I have to sort this out between ourselves.

"You don't deserve her" My brother in law says and sits down next to me.

"I know" I repeat.

"If you hurt her again, you will suffer worse than a punch in the face" Danny assures me and shoots me a glare.

"Got it"

"For some fucked up reason she still loves you, so don't fuck it up." He tells me and looks me right in the eyes.

"I don't understand it myself" I mutter.

"I mean it, Bass" Danny growls "I don't want to get another call at 2 am with her crying on the other end. I had enough of those."

"I can't promise you anything…I will properly fuck up, I am a Monroe after all, but I will try my best. She is it for my Danny…I love her." I tell him.

"I should have known Mom had an ulterior motive as she urged me to go and see my sister this morning" Danny admits and shakes his head.

"Your mother never really liked me, so I can't blame her for trying." I say and laugh.

"I will call ahead next time I come around" Danny holds out his hand and I shake it. "Good talk" He grins and gets up. I hear him say to Charlie "He needs some ice" as he enters the house.

Minutes later Charlie walks outside with a bag of ice. "Unbelievable" She mutters and hands it to me. "I am going to kill him."

Just as she turns away, I snatch her hand and pull her towards me. "Sit down, Danny can show himself out." I say the last part loud enough for my brother in law to hear and seconds later the front door closes with a small 'Bang'. Surprisingly she listens to me and sits down. I snag my arm around her and pull her closer. "I deserved that. I am surprised he didn't show up a lot earlier."

"Well he probably has been avoiding mom's calls again. I am sure she called him the minute she found out that you are here" Charlie replies and snuggles further into my embrace.

"At some Point your mother and I will find common ground…" I tell her and place a kiss on her temple.

"Yeah when one of you is dead" Charlie mutters and making me laugh. She has a point though. Rachel doesn't like me, no matter how hard I try; I cannot convince her that I am good enough for her daughter. And what happened these past few months, it will be even harder now.

* * *

**A couple of weeks later**

"Hey" I knock on Andrew's door and he motions for me to get in. I seat myself in front of his table and wait for him to get off the phone. His office is spacious and on the 15th floor, with a view over Chicago.

"Hey…good to see you. I am glad that Alex is doing better. Me and the wife will come around on the weekend" Andrew says and shakes my hand. "So what was so urgent?"

"Well the thing is…I want out." I tell him straight up.

"You want to leave Black Ops?" Andrew questions and sits back in his seat with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." I nod and add "I need to think of my health and family. Charlie and I are on better terms again, working towards getting our marriage back on track and I need to be here for that. So I will fulfil my contract, that is two more tours, but I won't renew my contract."

"Wow…didn't think I would see that day coming." Andrew smiles at me. "Good for you…but maybe you don't have to leave Black Ops completely."

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

"Well…we are looking for people to fill various positions at the moment." Andrew answers and leans forward to look at something on his desk. "The positions you are qualified for are recruiting and Training. What do you say? Any of that interest you?"

"Is there any overseas time in there?" I like working for this company, because they always paid me good and were fair to me, but if I the new positions require me to go back in a war zone for a longer period of time, I won't do it.

"The Recruitment position requires you to travel twice a year overseas, to do assessments. The training position only requires you to travel domestically. Maybe to Europe, if we are able to open that branch in London." My friend informs me and hands me a stack of papers. "Talk it through with Charlie and let me know before you deploy next week."

"Thanks Andrew" I stand and shake his hand. "For everything."

"You would have done the same for me." He replies and adds with a grin "You may want to check out the Salary we are willing to pay you."

I laugh and leave his office. One task down for the day, next one is talking to Charlie.

* * *

"Hey" Charlie comes down the stairs and places a kiss on my mouth. We always shared a bed during the last couple of weeks, but we decided that is as far as we would go. Even though I get up with a hard on every morning, I haven't even tried to have sex with her. I respect her wishes to much for that. But I swear she is trying to drive me mad with those small shorts she is wearing all the time.

I lift her up from the last step and she locks her legs around my waist. "Hey" I say, back her into the door and kiss her. Her lips taste sweet and her tongue is just begging for a wrestling match. And as the need for air becomes too much we pull apart.

Charlie's eyes have taken up a darker shade and are filled with desire. How much I would love to take her upstairs and just rip the clothes off her, but I have something to talk about with her.

"I have something to tell you" I inform her and carry her towards the living room. I want to be comfortable.

Her back stiffens and her face slips to a natural expression. Charlie tells me I have a world class 'Blank' face, but I am sure hers tops mine. "Don't worry…nothing bad." I assure her and place another kiss on her slightly swollen lips.

I sit us down, so that she is straddling me. Charlie wants to hop off me, but I keep her locked into place. "No stay here".

"What is going on Bass?" Charlie questions softly, but I can hear the worry in her voice.

"I have been seeing a psychiatrist for the last couple of weeks." I admit.

"What? Why didn't you say something? I could have made it easier on you!" Charlie says immediately.

"I didn't want it easier, Charlie. And I wanted to make sure that it was going somewhere and that I was actually going there regularly. I didn't want to tell you, then chicken out and disappoint you all over again." I tell her.

"Thank you" She tells me with a small smile and kisses me with everything she has got.

"It's a slow process and since I am deploying again next week again, I will miss a few session, but once I am home again I will go back. I promise." I assure her and add "There is more."

"More?" She questions and raises an eyebrow.

"I am going to quit my job…Hear me out" I say as she is about to interrupt me, with a big grin on her face. I think Christmas came early for her this year. I haven't seen her smile like that in a long time.

"Okay" She whispers and waits me out.

"Andrew offered me a different position in the company. Minimal to no overseas travel. I have the information in my back pocket and I would like to discuss it with you tonight, after dinner." I tell her. "And I want us to sell the house."

I reached the conclusion between waking up and making breakfast. I want a new start with my family. And I think the right way to do is, to buy a new house.

"What? No…why? It's our house! So many good memories in there." My wife points out and I nod in agreement.

"Yes…but also bad ones. Especially from the last two years. Especially for you. It is time for a fresh start. We don't need to buy another house immediately and I can sleep on Miles's couch until we are back on track, but I want to start over…with you." I tell her honestly.

"Why would you want to sleep on Miles's couch?" She questions.

"Well I…I don't know. I just thought given the circumstances that would be the right thing to do" I inform her and shift her slightly on my lap, because my legs are slowly falling asleep.

"But I just gotten used to having my heater in my bed again" She smirks and I laugh.

"You and your cold feet. Its 30 degrees at night and your feet are still like ice blocks." I shake my head. "Well fine…if I can help you keep your feet warm, I will share a bed with you." I sigh as if that will be such a bad thing.

"Such a hard job huh?" She grins and inches her face closer to mine.

"Yes it is. I should receive hazardous pay." I grin and claim her lips with mine.

I am beyond happy at the moment. I am saving my marriage, I am giving up my job and I will get to actually go to one of Alex's football games in the future. Life couldn't be better.

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note**

**Okay so this is a short chapter. It had to be done and I am sorry.**

**Thank you for all the comments, they are all appreciated.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Bass's POV**

**Four weeks later**

"I really hoped that we would have the rest of the evening off!" Nutter mutters as we all get out of our Humvee.

"What did Reese say again?" Private First Class Reginald Mayfair questions. Reggie was assigned to our squad two weeks ago, since Tom broke his arm. Reggie drops his voice to mimic the First Sergeant "You are my best unit and I need you out there. No one is better suited for this mission than you boys!"

"You got it in one Reggie" I clap him on the back and get Max out of the back of the Humvee. He instantly starts sniffing and draws me away from the vehicle.

It is now 4 in the afternoon and after our morning patrol duty, we were supposed be off until the next day, but we were 'needed' for this mission. Reese hates this unit, and always gives us the shit assignments. So it does not come as a surprise that we were send 5 hours away from the camp to the middle of frecking nowhere.

I have six more weeks to go here and then I am done with this. Andrew and I made a deal. I would finish my contract in one big long mission and he would give me some extra time off when I got home.

Before I left, Charlie and I packed up our old house and met with a realtor. With a lot of luck the house will be sold by the time I get back home. I told Charlie to accept any offer she sees fit.

Once I am home I will go back to therapy and we are going to look at a new house together…

BANG

The blast pushes me a few meters through the air and I face plant the ground. I can't breathe and my ears are ringing. I try to move my arms and legs, but they won't do what I tell them too.

Unconsciousness is trying to take over and I try to fight it, but are unsuccessful. Seconds later the world goes black.

* * *

The next time I wake I find myself in a cellar of some sorts, tied to a wooden pole, which is supporting the building above us. Nutter and Reggie are tied to the other two poles, but I can't see Rick.

"Hey you are awake" Nutter remarks and grimaces as he moves a little.

"Where are we? And where is Rick?" I questions and try make out with what I am tied to the post. _Plastic cable tie…great._

"Rick is dead, Bass" Nutter in forms me. "He died in the blast."

"Shit" I curse and try to push down the lump that has just formed in my throat. "Where are we?" Better to concentrate on the situation at hand and not on our fallen comrade.

"We are not entirely sure. We both were unconscious as they brought us here. But the people holding us are native Iraqis." Nutter answers. His uniform is stained with blood, his face is blue, as if he has been beaten and his leg used to look better too.

I lean my head against the pole with a sigh, which sends a burning sensation along my ribs. They are definitely broken. "How long have we been here?"

"A couple of days at least. They patched us up quiet well though." Reggie informs me and motions with his head to the bandage on his leg.

"Any chance of getting out of here?" I ask, but I have a feeling that there is no way we will make it out alive and their silence just confirms my suspicion.

Next thing I know a man dress from head to toe in a black gown appears in the cellar door, unties me and drags me up the stairs.

"Tell me your name" He says in broken English, after he tied me to a chair. There are three others with machine guns in the room and a camera is set up in the corner.

I keep silent and just look around the room. He asks two more times before his fist connects with my jaw.

"Tell me your name" He repeats with a grim expression and I keep silent again.

Roughly half an hour later I am being carried back down stairs. They delivered one blow after another to my face and my broken rips, but I didn't talk. Talking could get me killed a lot faster and I fully intend to make it back to my family.

"Maybe next time you will be a little more talk active" The man says and punches my head again, making everything go blurry. I can hear my mates shouting but everything goes dark just seconds later.

"_We have the whole house for ourselves?" I question and draw Charlie a little closer. She is wearing those damn shorts again._

"_We do" She grins and puts her arms around my neck._

"_Okay…then…let's play a game of chess" I suggest and pretend to drag her to the living room._

"_You got to be joking" She exclaims, making me laugh._

"_Nah…I can think of a better way to spend alone time" I grin, lift her up and carry her up the stairs._

"_Does this involve us being naked?" my wife questions as I throw he onto the bed._

"_Maybe" I reply vaguely and hover above her. Before she can utter another word, I close the gap between us and kiss her sweet lips. "You are driving me crazy in these shorts" I tell her as I pull away again and let my hands wander down to said clothing._

"_I can vaguely remember you muttering something like that the other day" She grins up at me and her breath hitches as I let my hand glide over her sweet spot and down her legs._

"_So you are wearing them for a purpose?" I question and drag my hand back up her leg and beneath her shorts. I have to swallow hard as I discover that she isn't wearing any underwear._

"_Yeah…so that you would take them off me" She tells me and bites down on her bottom lip as I run my thump over her wet sweet spot._

"_Oh believe that's what I will be doing" I tell her and kiss her again._

_Soon enough we hungrily pull each others clothes of and with one swift move I enter her. I still for a second, before I pull out again, just to slam right back into her._

_This time is all about fulfilling a need. And it doesn't take long for both of us to fall over the edge._

"_I am sorry" I say as I roll over, taking her with me, so that she is straddling me._

"_For?" She questions as she rocks her hips a little, waking a different part of anatomy again._

"_I didn't mean to be this rough." I admit and cringe slightly as I get a good look at the small bite marks and hickeys on her neck and breast._

"_No need to be sorry, I liked that…now it's my turn" She shoots me an evil grin, and my man hood becomes fully erect of anticipation of what is to come._

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note**

**I like to thank the one guest reviewer for leaving a comment. I am glad to see that someone is still following this.**

**Here is the next one :D**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

_**A day after the explosion**_

"You do your homework and then Brandon can come over, deal?" I tell my son, as we get out of the car.

"Mom?" Alex questions just as I take my bag and groceries from the back seat. "Daddy's friend Andrew is here."

I quickly look up and see Mr. Andrew Jones standing at our front door. _This can't be good!_

"Andrew?" I call out and lock the car. I know something is off, because Andrew always calls ahead before he comes over.

"I need to talk to you" He replies with a serious expression on his face.

"Alex, do your homework in your room today…but no playing with your toys." I say to my son and as he starts to protest I add sternly "No complaining, remember our deal!" My son only nods defeated and I gesture for Andrew t follow me into the kitchen.

"Coffee?" I ask, trying not to think about what his visit could mean.

"Yes please" He replies and sits down. After I place the coffee in front of him, I sit down myself.

"What happened?" I find myself asking after a while of silence.

"We are unsure at the moment. But it is not good." Andrew replies and my heart rate sky rockets.

"Is he dead?" I question shakily.

"Not that we no off. There was an explosion. Bass's squad was ambushed. Sergeant Richard McDonald died. Bass, Private First Class Reginald Mayfair and Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Nash were taken." My hands start to shake and I loose grip of the coffee cup. It slips out of my hands and breaks into a million pieces as it hits the ground.

Andrew immediately jumps up and grabs the dust pan that is lying next to the bin. While he is cleaning up, I just stare into nothingness. I can feel tears rolling down my cheek, but I can't make myself move. I am frozen to the spot. I am feeling shocked mixed with anger and worry. "What do you mean by taken? By whom?"

"We think that the Taliban took him, but there hasn't been any ransom demand or a video claiming responsibility for the attack" Andrew replies. I appreciate that Andrew came to tell me and not one of the other agents, it helps to hear this from a friend and not a stranger.

"Are you looking for them? There has to be a way of knowing where they took him" I question and as I look down I realize that my hands are still shaking. My cell phone rings in my bag, but I couldn't care less at the moment.

"Yes, the army is looking for them. We will find them" Andrew assures me.

"We…we were just getting everything back on track…why did this had to happen?`" I mumble to no one in particular, trying to make sense of it all.

"Do you want me to cal Miles or your mother?" Andrew questions.

"I…I will…uh… Miles… Miles needs t know… and shit, Connor, I need to call Connor too…What am I going to tell Alex?" I just ramble on, unsure of what to do or who to call first.

"Mom…your phone" Alex says as he enters the kitchen and holds out the offending device to me. I didn't even hear him come down the stairs.

"Would you mind…?" I ask Andrew motioning towards Alex.

"No…I will keep him busy." Andrew assures me and then turns to Alex. "Come on, I will help you with your homework…but you can't tell your mother!" At that Alex just rolls his eyes laughing and runs up the stairs, with Andrew hot on his heels. Alex is unstoppable since he got his cask off. Constantly running around, I am having trouble keeping up with him all the time.

My phone starts ringing again and I look at the screen and sigh. _Jason_. He has been calling every few days since that night, but thankfully I was always at work or otherwise engaged. I need to put an end to this now.

"Hey, why don't you answer your phone?" Jason says as I pick up.

"Ugh…Jason…You and I have nothing to say to each other anymore" I tell him. "I want you to stop calling."

"I just want to see you Charlie. I need to apologize, in person. Did you get my flowers?" He questions. He send flowers to my work and home, as Bass was still here. And I was barely able to keep my husband from marching over to the office Jason works at, with a baseball bat.

"NO…Stop…with everything. Or I will call the cops. This has to stop Jason" I reply angrily. _Why doesn't he take the hint?_

"I just want to apologize Charlie." Jason says desperately.

"Well I accept your apology…now Stop calling!" I nearly shout and hang up.

My eyes fall on a photo of Alex, Bass and myself which is hanging on the fridge. The picture was taken a day before he deployed again.

We were at the zoo and we took the picture in front of the Elephants. This picture has made me smile every day since Bass has been gone. An Elephant photo bombed us and has his trunk on Alex's shoulder trying to reach into the bag of peanut M&amp;M's that my son his holding. Alex's face is a mixture of horror and laughter and I just had to tape it to the fridge.

As my eyes settle on Bass's laughing face, the fact that he is out there somewhere, with his mates, being held hostage by the Taliban, hits me with full force. Tears gather in my eyes and my heart hurts. _This can't be happening!_

I press my lips tightly together to keep myself from screaming out loud. Then I take a multiple calming breaths and wipe the tears away with the back of my hand. I need to keep it together for Alex's sake. And I need to believe that Bass will make it back to me and our son.

My next call is to Miles, who promises he will call Connor and then come over immediately.

* * *

Andrew stays till after dinner and leaves with a promise to check in with us tomorrow. Where as Miles stays the night. Since I brought is duffle bag, I assume he will stay longer than just one night.

Sleep does not come easy that night. The worry for Bass and what they are doing to him is overwhelming. And my head only comes up with the worst case scenarios.

Alex cried a little. I think he doesn't quiet understand what is happening and that his Dad my never come back home.

* * *

**Good? Bad? Ugly? Let me know?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note**

**Thank you for your comments. It makes me happy to see that you are all still following this. So thank you for that.**

**This one is a short one…sort of a prequel of what is to come.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

_**Two weeks after the explosion**_

"ANDREW…it's been weeks…how do you not know anything?" I shout and a couple of people who walk passed his office stare at us.

"Charlie…I am sorry, but there hasn't been any news. One of our guys is in… on the search and they have come up with squad" He replies in a calm voice. "I know that it is frustrating and that you are worried…I am too, but unfortunately this takes time."

"I am sorry" I sigh and sit down again. "Alex keeps asking me about Bass…and I am running out of things to say." Tears spring into my eyes and I can barely hold them at bay.

"I understand. I promise I will keep you updated." He tells me and sits down next to me. "We will find him Charlie."

"I hope so…" I sniff and a couple of tears run down my cheeks. "He was just getting better…god knows how it is going to be when he gets back from this."

"He is a tough guy and he loves you. You and Bass will get through this." Andrew assures me.

Half an hour later I leave his office. I came here right after work, since I hadn't heard from Andrew in a couple of days and I am slowly going insane.

I tried to keep myself busy enough to not think about it, but then our son asked this morning when Daddy was coming come and I just froze. Thankfully Miles has been staying with me and my uncle immediately jumped in.

* * *

My phone rings, just as I step out of the building Black Ops is located in, and I pick up without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Charlie…have you heard anything?" Connor rushes the words out.

"No…nothing yet." I reply defeated.

"I am on my way home. Miles is going to pick me up from the airport tonight. Can I stay at your house?" He says and I hear a car door slam. "I will call you…dunno…probably not for a few weeks."

"What are you talking about?" I question, because I only heard part of what is being said on the other end of the line.

"Sorry…I was talking to Ernesto" Connor explains. "So your house?"

"Yeah…sure. Miles is sleeping on the couch tough, so you will need to sleep on the air mattress" I inform him.

"Okay… then I will bunk with my favorite nephew. See you tonight, C" He says and hangs up. Bass and Connor are gentlemen in every regard, but they are definitely lacking of phone manners.

Connor wasn't able to get away from work earlier than this. He had no one who was able to finish his tour for him.

My brother in law called every night to check in and make sure I was hanging in there. I am glad he is coming home.

* * *

**Bass's POV**

We have been here for roughly 14 days now. I have been fading in and out of unconsciousness for at least half of that time, from all the beating, so I can't be exactly sure about how much time has passed between the explosion and now.

Until now we have stayed tight lipped, but I am expecting those guys to bring up other methods pretty soon.

"We have to find a way out of here." I growl as I hear Nutter curse upstairs. They took us in turns. Always given each one of us at least a couple of days to rest and recuperate, before beating us again.

"There is no way" Reggie mumbles. His face is swollen and he can barely speak. "They all have guns and there are at least 10 men in this house."

"We have to find a way!" I shout angrily. This is beyond frustrating. Everything hurts and I just want to go home to my family.

They beat Reggie a lot more than Nutter and me. Since he is the youngest and has the lowest rank, I assume they expect him to break first. I am not sure how much more Reggie can take, before he starts talking. And then we all are as good as dead!

* * *

The next day it is my turn again and I force myself to stay as alert as possible. I need to find us away out of here.

"AHHHh" I scream as the masked man hits me with a Taser. Turns out 50 000 volts hurt like a bitch.

"Answer my question" The masked man says.

"FUCK YOU" I growl and he hits me with the Taser again. It's a vicious circle. He asks me a question, I tell him to fuck off and he Tasers me.

On the upside the chair I am sitting on is wooden and has a screw that is loose on the back. I have been trying to loosen it for the better part of the last hour, when he isn't torturing me. Thankfully the chair is up against a wall and no one is standing beside me to notice what I am doing.

"Tell me which unit you are from and I won't hurt you again" He says this time a little softer, as if he really believes I will fall for that.

I laugh in his face and repeat "Fuck you". He Tasers me again and again, until I can't feel that spot of skin anymore.

After that they carry me back downstairs and I immediately fall asleep of exhaustion.

"On the back of the chair there is a loose screw. I couldn't get it." I inform Nutter as I wake.

"I will get it." Reggie mumbles.

"No…when they come down to get you…I will go instead. You can't take much more" Nutter replies and casts a glance at me, before looking back at Reggie.

"No…I won't let you do that" Reggie tries to shout, but his voice fails him and his words come out as nothing more than a whisper.

"You don't have a choice. You will stand down Soldier" Nutter barks.

* * *

"I shouldn't have let him go" Reggie flinches as Nutter screams again. "I can hold my own"

"I know…but we need you to save your strength for when we…" I start, but immediately shut up as the door opens and our kidnappers drag Nutter back in.

"Urrgg" Nutter groans as they tie his hands back around the pole, before leaving the cellar. For a few minutes we are silent, because there is no guarantee that our kidnappers aren't waiting on the opposite side of the door, trying to catch some information.

"I got it." Nutter smiles.

I can feel a little bit of hope surging through me before I push it back down. I can't let myself hope, until make it out of here.

For all we know we could be somewhere up in the mountains miles, away from where we were attacked. This could work either to our advantage or mean our immediate deaths, with no one ever finding our bodies.

* * *

It takes us a couple of days to work out a plan of action. Wehave gone over it about a million times, rehashing every detail, to make sure every one of us knows their job.

"You ready?" I look at Reggie who only nods. "We will get to you as soon as we can." Reggie nods again and closes his eyes briefly, mentally preparing himself for the torture that will be inflected on him soon.

Let's hope this plan works!

* * *

**Good? Bad? Leave a comment!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I apologize immensely. Seems like I uploaded this to FF, but didn't add it to the story. My apologies**

**Author's note**

**I am sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have had a hard time getting this chapter right. I hope it turned out alright in the end.**

**Thank you all for your comments.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Bass's POV**

I am sitting here trying to block out the screaming and shouting, which is coming from upstairs, while Nutter is trying to get out of the ties. Reggie has been up there for roughly 15 minutes and by the sound of things, they have been going at him hard.

I throw another worried glance towards Nutter, who is working furiously. He buried the screw close to his pole, in the dirt, until we were ready to go through with this insane plan.

A few minutes later I hear something snap and turn my head to look at my friend again. His wrists are bloody, but they are free at last. He quickly get's up and immediately starts working on my ties too. The quicker we do this the better.

"Ready?" He questions as he helps me up. I only and we move over to the door.

Nutter is on the right side and I on the left and I start shouting over and over again "HEY….HEY YOU ASSHOLES…COME DOWN HERE…I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU". I do this until I hear someone coming down the stairs.

We both count the steps silently in our heads and brace ourselves as we reach ten. The door fly's open and Nutter immediately takes him into a head lock and I cover the guy's mouth with my hands.

The guy struggles against Nutter's hold, but Nutter just tightens his hold. Thankfully Reggie is screaming his lunges out upstairs, as planned.

A couple of minutes later the guy's body goes lax and we double check that he is really unconscious, before undressing him. Nutter slips in the guys 'Uniform' and takes his machine gun, leaving me with a 9mm Pistol. _Thank you America, for delivering made in the USA weapons to the Iraqi soldiers._

I follow Nutter up the stairs and then to the left. We agreed to clear the house counterclockwise, hoping to only encounter our enemy in the 'torturing' room.

The room to the left is empty and we move on. The next room is the kitchen, in which we encounter another Taliban, whose back is towards us. That works to our advantage.

Nutter grabs a dish towel from the table and surprises the guy by covering his mouth with it. One hand tightly on the towel and his right arm around the guy's neck, he renders him unconscious in no time.

This time I throw on the Taliban's clothes, which smell a lot like tobacco and piss, and grab his guns, before we move on. This all happens in perfect silence. The only noise comes from Reggie in the other room.

We clean two more rooms, without encountering anyone. By now my veins are pumping with adrenalin and my heart is beating a mile a minute as we casually walk into the room that Reggie is held in. No one even looks at us as we enter.

As Reggie looks up, I tap my gun three times with my thumb and nod once, which is the signal we agreed on. Reggie nods back and just as the bad guy is about to Taser him again, Nutter shoots him.

The other five guys, who are in the room too, look at us stunned and it takes them a couple of seconds to realize what is going down. They raise their weapons and start firing at us.

We quickly fall back into the hallway, waiting on either side of the door, waiting patiently for them to stop shooting. For about 5 seconds it's dead silent in the house, before Nutter and I take the chance and open fire on them.

We manage to shoot two of them, but unfortunately Reggie takes one into the knee, and we have to draw back into the hallway, since the bad guys reloaded and start shooting again.

"One to the left behind the sofa…one to the right, behind that table" Nutter whispers and I nod. He motions with his hands for me to take the right and that he will take the left one. I nod once more, before we turn back into the room.

Another round of Ammo later, we finally manage to bring the situation under control.

First Nutter and I tie the alive ones to each other and to a table and then free Reggie.

"I have a look if I can find our gear" Nutter informs me and leaves the room. Leaving me to take care of Reggie.

I quickly tear the clothing I am wearing apart, grab the bottle of alcohol from the table and disinfect Reggie's bullet wound. He presses his eyes shot as the alcohol hits the wound, but no sound comes out of his mouth. Once I am finished with that I warp the wound as tightly as I can.

"Damn Bass….let me look at yours" Reggie says, as I am just about to move away.

"At my what?" I question harshly.

"Your wound" He points to my stomach and as I look down on myself, I see that there is blood soaking my green, army issued shirt.

"Can't feel it…Too much adrenaline pumping through my veins" I point out. I lift my shirt over my head to inspect it closer and flinch as I pull at the wound.

"Seems like it went straight through, but there is a chance that you still got parts of it in there" Reggie informs me. He did basic nurse training with the army and wants to become a front line medic.

Reggie quickly disinfects my wound too, with a worried look on his face, before tightening a piece of clothing around my abdomen. He is just about to say something, as we suddenly hear some clatter coming from the front of the house and I immediately grab my gun and silently move to where the noises are coming from.

As I look out the front door, I can see Nutter being held at gun point by a smaller guy, in the same outfit as our hostage takers. And this guy is heavily armed too. He has a pistol aimed at Nutter's head, a machine gun hanging of his shoulder and a couple of grenades are lying next to him on the ground. They must have fallen out of the bag, which is sitting right beside them.

_We must have missed one. _I am glad that the guy's back is towards me and that they are standing about 5 meters away from the front door, hopefully I can move behind him undetected.

"هيا ... وضع المسدس. أنا لا أقصد أي ضرر (Come on...put the gun down. I don't mean any harm)" Nutter says to him, trying to distract him, so that he isn't paying attention to his surroundings.

"من أنت؟ وكيف تحصل هنا؟ (Who are you? And how did you get here?)" The smaller man asks. By the sound of his voice, I'd say this one hasn't even reached puberty.

Before Nutter has the chance to answer, I move behind the kid and press the gun into his back." وضع المسدس (Put the gun down)" I have been in this part of the world often enough to speak the language almost fluently. The kid immediately drops the gun and raises his hands. I did not expect this to go that easy.

As I move back into the house with the kid, I encounter Reggie, who has a gun trained at my head. "It's just me" I assure him and he lowers the weapon immediately.

"I was prepared to shoot my way out of here!" He replies and helps me secure the kid to the table.

"Found our stuff" Nutter, who followed me back into the house, informs us. He hands us our clothes and we get suited up. I am surprised the Taliban didn't burn it.

"Radio? Compass?" I question as I can't find it.

"Non existing" Nutter replies. "Found a phone. Unfortunately the phone doesn't have any reception in this area, so we have to wait till we get to lower ground."

Ten minutes later we scarped enough food, water and ammunition together to survive for at least three days. As we step outside I ask the most important question. "Any Idea where we are?"

"Well according to this phone it's 9 am, the way the sun is sitting I'd say north is that way. So we will need to go north-west…" Nutter guesses and points into the direction, which will lead us right through the mountains. In other words, he doesn't know where we are and we will have to wing it.

"Stay frosty Oscar Mike" I tell them and start marching. It's going to be a long and slow way home, since Reggie can barely put pressure on that knee. He found himself some wood, which is half as tall as him, but will serve well as a crutch.

* * *

"You gotta go on…" I say weakly and motion for them to keep going.

"After all this shit…we are not leaving you here" Reggie says sternly and drops to the ground next to me. I have lost too much blood during this two day hike and I am now on my last drop of energy. I am surprised that I even made it this far.

"You go ahead and get help. I will wait here for the extraction" I say to them, but we all know that the extraction will either come too late or not at all.

The phone was a bust. The battery died before we even got into signal range. Plus we have yet to encounter another human being and if or when we do, we can't even be sure if they are friendlies or enemies.

"Nutter" I motion for my friend to get closer. I grab an envelope out of my breast pocket and hand it to him. "Just in case."

He takes it off me and tugs into his pants pockets, without uttering a word. He knows what is in that envelope. He wrote one just like that. It's a letter to the people we love and leave behind if we don't make it. Nutter will deliver it personally to Charlie and Alex, just like I would do for him, were the roles reversed.

"We will stop here to get some rest" My friend says and helps me up, so that we can go a little into the forest, in case any enemies are on the lookout from the mountains.

"_BASS" Charlie screams in a high pitched voice behind me and I accidently drop the egg I have been holding._

"_Jesus…don't scare me…" I stop mid-sentence as I turn around and take a look at her. Her face tells me that she is in pain and the puddle on the flood tells me that she is in labor…__**HOLY SHIT SHE IS IN LABOR!**_

_I don't even know how we made it safely to the hospital, because everything just happened in a blur. My main concern was Charlie and her high pitches screams._

* * *

"_Congratulations, it's a boy" The doctor says with a smile on her face, after 36 intense hours of labor. "Would you like to cut the cord?" She adds and hands me the scissors._

_After I cut it, our son is whisked away by the doctors and I can't keep my eyes of my beautiful wife. "Thank you" I kiss her sweaty forehead with a smile._

"_For what?" She questions with a tiered, but happy look on her face._

"_Making this possible for me. Sticking with me. I love you" I tell her and press a kiss to her lips. Behind me someone clears their throat and we draw away from each other._

"_What is his name going to be?" The doctor asks with our son in her arms._

"_William Alexander Monroe" Charlie informs us, making me look at her in shook._

"_You want to use my Dad's name?" I question astonished._

"_Yes, I do" Charlie smiles at me and takes our son from the doctor._

"_I don't deserve you" I tell her and quickly take out my phone to snap a picture of my family._

"_Nah, you deserve more…only you haven't realized it yet" She retorts shooting me a cheeky grin. We have had that part of the conversation countless of times, and she always answers with that. "You want to hold you son?"_

_I only nod and take him into my arms. I am instantly in love with this little human being. Alex looks so tiny; making me afraid I'd break him if I hold him too tight._

"Bass….Bass" Nutter shakes me a little, just before I open my eyes.

"What?" I growl weakly. I didn't want to wake from that dream. That was a great day and I hoped that Charlie and I would get to do it again at some point, but by the look of my condition that won't be possible. I definitely regret that we wasted so much time. _Time is running out on me_.

"We've got company"

* * *

**Enemies or Friendlies…? Loved it? Hated it? Leave a comment and tell me all about it!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note**

**I apologize for the late update. Things haven't been going well for me writing wise. I hope I will be able to finish this story, before I move to England next months, so fingers crossed that my muse will let me.**

**Thank you all for the comments.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Bass's POV**

_(Everything in Italics is meant to be Arabic)_

"Stay down" Nutter says and pushes me further behind the bushes. He kneels close to my head and Reggie close to my feet with their guns pointed towards the road.

I can hear voices, which are coming closer rapidly and they are, by the sound of it, riding on a wagon, with a horse attached to the front. A little old school but folks in this region don't always have the money to buy a car or a truck.

"Farmers?" I question and try to sneak a glance through the bushes, pulling at my wound in the process. I have to bite down on my lower lip to not scream out loud.

"Possibility" Nutter whispers back. We sit there in silence for a few more minutes and wait for them to pass. Suddenly Nutter jumps up and before I can latch onto him, steps around the bush and yells at the people on the road.

"_HEY...HEY wait...We need help!"_ He shouts and Reggie limps after him on Reggie's six. I try to pull myself a little further forward, so that I can see past the bushes to at least try to be some sort of back up for them, and only succeed with great discomfort.

I briefly close my eyes, to fight the nausea and the blackness that is trying to envelope me once again. The wound is getting worse and the pain is nearly unbearable. I am trying to hold on as best as I can, but the chances of those people being able to help us, are slim. It's a mystery how I survived two days of hiking.

"_Please...we need help...Our friend is injured."_ I hear Nutter shout. His gun is hanging loosely around his neck and his arms are raised, to signal them that he doesn't mean any harm. Reggie is keeping an eye on the people from a little further away.

"_You are Americans?"_ One of the men on the wagon questions loud enough for me to just make out what he is saying. There are three of them. The one who just spoke is the oldest and there are two boys with him. One seems to be a little older than Alex and the other one is probably around 18.

"_Yes we are and we need help. We don't have a working phone. So if you have one, could we borrow it?"_ Nutter questions carefully. You never know with these people. They could be Taliban or IS soldiers disguised as Farmers.

"_We don't have a phone with us, sorry"_ The man replies.

"_Can you tell me where we are at least?"_ Nutter probes further and the man, who spoke just a second ago, steps of the wagon.

"_We are close to Zozanên Doskîa" _He replies and Nutter looks down on the map, which he just took out of his pockets. _"We are here." _The man adds and points to a spot on the map_._

"_Shit….that's at least a day's walk."_ Nutter curses and turns towards Reggie.

"We are not going to make that, Nutter." Reggie remarks and tries to balance on his good leg. He too has lost blood, but he is in far better shape than I am. They could have been half way to the village by now, if they just had listened to me.

Last night as we made camp and had a small fire going, he burned his wound and was able to close it. He tried to do the same to my wound, but it didn't quite work. All it did was make the pain even greater.

The men on the wagon fall into Kurdish, which I don't understand. They seem to have a heated conversation, before the older boy jumps off the wagon too and approaches Nutter. "We can help you move to Zozanên Doskîa" He says in broken English.

The older man nods and motions for us to hop onto the wagon. "_We will take you_" he assures Nutter.

"Reggie, get Monroe" Nutter orders and shakes hands with the man. "_Thank you!"_

Reggie helps me up and supports me all the way to the wagon, while supporting himself on the piece of wood he is using as a crutch.

"_Thank you"_ I shoot the older man a grateful look.

"_You are welcome. Here use this to cover yourself up. We can't have them find you with us, or we are all dead"_ The man says and gets back on the front seat.

"_What is you name?"_ Reggie questions.

"_Abraham and these are my sons Anah and Gabir"_ He replies and then gets the horses moving. "_What are your names?"_

"_Reggie, Sebastian and Christopher" _Nutter tells him and points towards us as he says our names.

"_It's nice to meet you" _Abraham nodsand we all fall silent_._

* * *

"Bass…Bass…stay with me brother…we are almost there. Don't quit on me now" Nutter shakes me and I open my eyes again. I have been fading in and out of consciousness all afternoon. The slight swaying of the wagon makes me really sleepy.

Thankfully we haven't encountered another human being so far. I don't know how long we have been on this wagon for, but dusk has settled, in so I assume it's been almost six to seven hours.

Sometime ago Reggie felt my forehead and got a concerned look on his face, after I started hogging all the blankets because I was freezing my ass off. He didn't say anything but I think I have a fever, which is not good either.

Suddenly we come to a hold and Nutter and Reggie immediately grab their guns and look for threats.

"_Lower your guns. We are at my house. No threats here"_ Abraham tells us and motions for them to lower the guns. After a beat of silence Reggie and Nutter deem it somewhat safe and lower their guns.

"_I thought you were taking us to Zozanên Doskîa?"_ I question weakly.

"_Zozanên Doskîa is another two hours that way" _Abraham answers and point down the hill_. "Your friend needs help now. I will take you in the morning, if he is up to it" _Abraham adds as he looks at Nutter.

Two girls come running out of the small house, which is hidden away by trees and the hill, followed by a middle aged woman. In the dark I can make out a few pigs and cows close by, as well as a barn. This confirms my suspicion of them being farmers.

Nutter helps Reggie down, before they both get me off the wagon. The woman, who I assume is Abraham's wife, makes wild hand gestures while talking to our new found ally in Kurdish.

"_If this is a problem, we can move on. You helped us out enough. We don't want to impose"_ I tell them, making the wife look at me in surprise.

"_You speak Arabic?"_ She questions curiously and steps forward.

"_Yes, we do. We have been here too often not too_" I answer honestly.

"_You are injured"_ She remarks and steps even closer, giving me a once over look.

"_I told you so."_ Abraham remarks dryly and rolls his eyes. I laugh and then wince in pain as my stomach muscles contract.

"_If you want me to help you, you won't say a word right now"_ She says sternly and throws me a glare, which reminds me of Charlie. She is just like this woman.

"_Yes, Mam_" I nod.

"_Bring him in._" She motions for us to follow her into the house. The inside is one big open space, there are no walls. On one end is the kitchen, on the other the beds. "_Put him down there."_ She tells my friends and motions towards one of the beds.

She grabs a knife and cuts my shirt. "_You remind me of my wife_" I tell her to distract me from her poking around my wound. Reggie is standing right next to her and Nutter has taken a seat close by. Both of them watching her every move.

"_Are you a nurse or a doctor?"_ Reggie questions, just as the woman is about to say something in return.

"What is she going to do?" I question him weakly.

"I don't know what I am going to do…We need to stop the bleeding as well as get the bullet fragments out, if there are any." The woman answers in a perfect British accent, making all our heads turn.

"You are English!" Reggie points out astonished.

"Yes. I am Amira by the way." She replies, but never takes her eyes of my wound. "There are some gloves and alcohol in that cabinet. Grab it for me" Amira adds and points towards the kitchen area.

"Are you a nurse or a Doctor?" Nutter repeats Reggie's question, as Reggie goes to grab the things she asked for.

"Neither, but the war has taught me a few things" She replies. "If you want to help, help…if not I am sure my husband could use another set of hands outside as well."

"You go, I stay and keep an eye on him" Reggie ensures Nutter.

Next thing I know, she pushes a clothes in my mouth and pours the alcohol onto the wound.

"Argggggggg" I try to scream, but the clothes is muffling the sound. My head start to swim and everything darkens around me.

* * *

"Welcome back to the land of the living" Nutter says and throws me tight smile.

"How long was I out for?" I ask and my mouth feels like it's filled with sand.

"A couple of days" He informs me and pushes me back down onto the bed, as I try to sit up.

"Did you get hold of anybody?" I question hopeful, but Nutter shakes his head.

"No…too dangerous. Abraham went into town and they said there were people looking for us. We have just been biding our time here, waiting for you to wake up." My friend answers and hands me a small cup to drink out off.

"Ahh our sleeping beauty is awake" Amira smiles as she walks into the house, with a basket in hand.

"How is it that you have an English accent?" I look at her curiously.

"I am saved his life and that is the first thing that comes out of his mouth?" She looks at Nutter and laughs.

"His mother didn't teach him any manners and his wife considers him a lost cause" Nutter shoots back.

"I understand…" Amira grins and comes closer. She lifts my shirt, un-wraps the bandage and inspects the wound. "It's looking good. But an ugly scar will stay back as a reminder of this trip. Since neither I nor Reggie are plastic surgeons, you will have to make do."

"No worries…Thank you for saving my life" I reply and hold out my hand for her to shake.

"You are welcome. I don't usually get to use my skills out here anymore. Which is a good thing I suppose" Amira sighs and re-wraps my wound.

"I thought you were neither nurse nor doctor?" I inquire confused.

"Well technically I am not. In England I used to work as an Ambulance Paramedic, but that was ten years ago." She tells me and sits next to me on the bed.

"What brought you to these parts?" I find myself asking. "Sorry…you don't have to answer…I don't mean to pry."

"Well I came here with the Red Cross; fell in love with Abraham and stayed." She answers and takes the cup away from me. "Take it easy on the water."

"You gave up civilization for this?" I question baffled. "You are living in a war country."

"Yes, but I am happier here. Thankfully the Taliban never bothered us. Abraham made sure I speak like a native so that I won't make any one suspicious. And with my darker skin and black hair, I hardly stand out." She points out.

"Smart thinking." I reply. "How is Reggie?"

"We fixed his leg and he is as good as new." Amira answers.

"Not to be ungrateful, but when can we get out of here? Charlie is probably worried out of her mind or worse thinks I am dead." I ask and look at my friend and fellow Soldier.

"Abraham and I talked…and I will go with him into the city tomorrow and call for rescue." Nutter tells me and gets up. "Now rest. You need your strength."

* * *

**Like? Dislike? Leave a comment!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note**

**My dear readers,**

**I am sorry I have been this absent. Like I mentioned before I am moving to England in November and it's been a little stressful in the last couple of weeks. I had my last work day last Friday, but since then my primary concern has been finding a job in England.**

**I promise you that I will finish this story. It may not be before I move, as I originally planned, but I will definably promise you that I will finish this. (I hate nothing more than unfinished stories. It drives me mad.)**

**So this is a short chapter and I hope I will be able to write the reunion, pretty soon.**

**Erdi**

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

_RIIINNNGGGGG_

I pry my eyes open and try to locate the offending device, called my cell phone. As I finally find it, I answer it without looking at the caller ID. "This better be good, Nora!" I say annoyed. "Don't say that Newton called in sick again…seriously, your Dad needs to fire him!"

It's been three weeks since the explosion and I went back to work two days ago, because I couldn't handle being at home anymore. And since Miles and Connor are refusing to leave my house, I always have someone willing to baby-sit Alex. Which is great for my son. He gets to spend some quality time with both of his uncles and they are spoiling him rotten, just to keep him occupied.

"Uhmm…It's me Andrew…I have some news for you" the voice on the other end informs me. "We made contact. Bass is coming home!"

"Oh my god…" I breathe out and a few happy tears are running down my face. "When? How? Tell me everything!"

"You know I can't give you specific details, but I can tell you that he will be coming home in a couple of days. I will come by tomorrow and tell you what I know. Okay?" Andrew says.

"Yes…sure. Come by anytime after four." I answer and we both say our goodbyes. _He is coming home….He is really coming home._

I can feel the weight and anxiety lifting from my shoulders and a smile spreading across my face. "YES" I yell and pump my fist into the air, sending my phone flying across the room and out my open window. But I couldn't care less about that at the moment. Nothing is more important than the fact that my husband is coming home.

I quickly throw away my covers, jump out of bed with an urgent need to tell the others the news immediately.

I throw open the door, just to find Connor and Miles on the other side. Both have a baseball-bat in their hands. "What are you doing with those?" I ask and laugh out loud. It's good to laugh again. It feels like I haven't done this in ages.

"Are you alright?" Connor questions with a worried look on his face.

"We heard you scream up here" Miles adds and rakes his eyes over me, to make sure I am uninjured.

"I am fine…let's go downstairs. I don't want to wake up Alex" I say quietly, push past them and make my way down the stairs.

"Are you sure you okay?" Miles asks as we reach the kitchen. His voice is laced with worry.

"I am fine…actually I am more than fine. He is coming home" I say and bounce up and down of excitement. "Bass is coming home. Andrew just called. He will be Stateside in a few days."

"No way" Miles exclaims and lets himself fall onto the closest chair. The relief is evident on his face.

"Yes Way" I grin and grab the bottle of Bourbon out of the cupboard above the stove.

"Is he okay?" Connor probes and grabs three glasses from the dripping tray next to the sink.

"I don't know. Andrew couldn't tell me the details. But he will come by tomorrow with more Information…" I inform them and with a glance at the clock I add "Well later on today."

"To Bass" Miles toasts and hands us both a filled glass.

"To Bass" We says in unison with smiles on our faces and clink our glasses together.

An hour later I exhausted back into my bed. I am still worried that he may be severely injured or has suffered more psychological injuries, but I know we can get through this together. No matter how is when he gets home, I won't let him push me away again.

* * *

**Bass's POV**

"We are going home Soldier" Nutter says with a grin as he enters my room with a wheelchair.

"Finally" I retort. Even though I am still a little weak, my wound has been healing nicely and I can walk by myself again, well almost. I manage to walk about a few hundred feet, before I need some assistance.

"What? Am I not a good enough nurse?" My friend questions in a mocking tone.

"No offence, but I can't stand to look at your face anymore." I tell him and add "Plus my wife is way hotter than you."

"You hurt my feelings" Nutter says without missing a beat and places his hand above his heart. "I have you know that I look hot in a nurses uniform."

"And that's not a picture I need in my head" I make a grimace and Nutter laughs.

We arrived at our base yesterday morning, where Reggie and I were immediately put into the infirmary, much to my dislike. It didn't matter how often we told them that we were fine.

"Where is Reggie?" I ask and look around.

"He is packing his stuff." Nutter informs me with a sad look.

"How is he holding up?" I question concerned. The Doctors couldn't repair the damage that the bullet inflicted to Reggie's knee, which means he will be limping for the rest of his life. And it also means that he won't be a front line medic.

"Badly." Nutter tells me and then adds "But there is still a chance that he can keep working for Uncle Sam." Reggie is Army through and through. His Dad is a high ranking Officer, working in Washington and his older brother is an Army Ranger. As he was little they moved around a lot. He doesn't know a world outside of the army.

"How?" I question.

"If I go to medical school and work for an Army hospital." Reggie answers as he enters the tent.

"Uncle Sam will foot the bill?" I ask and pull a face as I try to sit up. That movement still hurts.

"Of course" Reggie answers and shoots me a grin. "But for now I am on sick leave, so I have plenty of time to think about it."

"Thank you for saving my life" I say and look at my friends. I wouldn't have made it without them.

"Don't mention it, besides it was all Amira" Reggie waves off and Nutter nods.

"Okay enough of the emotional talk, we have a plane to catch" Nutter stands and holds out a hand for me to take.

"Yes Sir" I mock salute him, which makes him grin. "But I am not getting into that chair. If he is allowed to walk around on his knee, I can walk too."

"Bass…just sit you ass into the chair" Nutter growls and shakes his head. We had this conversation multiple times in the last 24 hours.

"Make him sit in a wheelchair and I will get in without another word" I tell him, hoping Reggie would refuse. But that Bastard just grins and plants his ass into the other wheelchair that is sitting next to my bed.

"Man am I glad, to be rid of you two by tomorrow!" I mutter.

A couple of hours later we are all strapped into our seats waiting for the plane to take off. My mind wanders to Rick and the other fallen soldiers. Max also didn't make it. They were all killed in the blast.

Reggie, Nutter and I got lucky. And if it wasn't for Abraham and Amira, Reggie and I wouldn't even be going home today.

I don't even want to know what Charlie has been through these past few weeks. She probably lost a few kilos and I can only hope that Miles has kept an eye on her. I will do everything in my power to make it up to her, not just for the last few years but also for these past three weeks.

I still think that she deserves better than me, but if this is what she wants to settle for than I will do my best to make he happy.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note**

**I am sorry I have not been around for a while. London takes all my will to write. This City is exhausting.**

**This is as far as I have gotten, but as previously promised, I will finish this story.**

**Thank you for all of you, who have kept on asking for the next chapter.**

**I cannot guarantee, when the next one will be up, as I still need to write them. It's all in my head, but I cannot seem to put it down on 'paper'.**

**Let me know what you think,**

**Your writer**

* * *

**Bass's POV**

"_NO" I growl stubbornly and glare at Nutter._

"_Fine" He sighs and pushes the wheelchair away from me. "But if you pull your stiches, I will not be held responsible...Stubborn prick."_

"_There is no way I will be wheeled out of the plane. I assume my wife already worries enough, no need to give her a heart attack" I tell him and get up from my seat, trying not to grimace as that movement does pull on my stitches. But obviously, I was not as good at hiding it as I thought I was, because Nutter shoots me a pointed look and Reggie just laughs at the two of us._

_The Cargo door of the plane open, revealing sunny, but windy Chicago. I grab my bag, but Nutter is quick to snatch it from me. "One word and I will send you right back to where we came from" He says making Reggie laugh again._

_We walk down the Cargo bay and I can see Charlie, Miles, Connor and Alex waiting for me on the other side of the air field. I try to quicken my steps, but my wound forbids me from doing that. "We would be quicker, if you only had sat your stubborn ass into the wheelchair." Nutter points out, but I ignore him. The only thing that matters to me right now, are the people waiting for me._

_Suddenly there is gunfire and Nutter quickly dives on top of me. As I raise my head, I am back in the sandbox and we are surrounded by the Taliban._

"_How the fuck did I get here?" I question and push Nutter off me._

"_Uncle Sam put us here...that's how" Nutter says as he crawls behind a bush. "There is no way in hell, I am renewing my contract." Nutter shouts above the gun fire._

_I look around and then I am back on the air field. But Miles and Connor aren't there, instead there are Taliban holding a gun to the heads of my wife and son. How the hell did they find me? Did they follow us in the plane? Who betrayed me?_

_They keep shouting at me, but I cannot make out what they are saying, I am too far away. As I take a step forward, they shoot Charlie and Alex in the head._

_I cannot breath. I sink to my knees._

"Bass...Bass" I jerk awake and find Charlie looking at me with a worried expression. "Are you okay?"

"How am I supposed to be okay, when I just saw you and Alex die again?" I snap and get out of bed. I strip out of my sweat soaked shirt and walk out of the room, not wanting to see the pity and worry in her eyes.

These dreams have become worse. They start of harmless; with the memories of the day I came back and first saw my family on that landing strip. But then they turn bad. Every dream ends with my family dying. I can never get to them, I can never save them.

I walk downstairs, past the couch Connor is currently sleeping on, and right into the kitchen. I rummage through the cupboards, to find the bottle of the good whisky which Charlie keeps around for special occasions.

I sit down on the table and stare at it for a long while. I would love to take a drink, drown my sorrows in booze, but I cannot do that to Charlie and Alex again. So instead I come down here every night and look at the bottle, reminding myself to keep it together for my family's sake.

"I am sorry" I say, without turning around. She can be as quiet as she wants, but I will always feel when she is near. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Charlie steps behind me. I close my eyes and lean back, so that the back of my head is resting just under her breasts. She slowly starts massaging my head with her fingers and gets me to relax. This is the first time she has followed me down here, after I had a bad dream. She usually just stays awake until I return, because Charlie knows I need a moment to cool down.

"It is okay...Don't worry about it" my wife almost whispers.

"I don't deserve you...you deserve more than this" I say and she stills her hands, making me whimper. I like the feeling of her hands going through my hair. It is such a simple thing, but it calms me nevertheless.

"You liked that huh?" She asks and I can hear that she is smiling. I only nod and her hands start moving again. With a sigh she says quietly "We have been over this. No matter how often you say it, I am staying where I am. I love you and you are not broken. I am happy where I am...just don't tell that to my husband, he doesn't know about us."

I shoot out of my seat and she backs away from me. Mischief is sparkling in her eyes and she has trouble keeping the grin of her face. Trust her to make a joke in a serious conversation. But I am glad she did. She made me think of something else, but my damaged self.

"So...you don't want me to tell your husband that you are in love with me?" I keep my face blank and stalk towards her. Charlie only nods and steps away from me.

"Yeah you know...he can be an ass sometime...and he has a mean right hook. Would be a shame, if your pretty face was damaged in the process." She answers and gives up on hiding the grin. _God, how much I love this woman!_

"Oh... I think I can take him" I assure her and back her against the fridge. "Thank you" I add before claiming her lips. She opens her lips instantly and lets me in. Our tongues are duelling for power and I press my body into her to get even closer to her. As the need for air becomes too much, we pull apart and I lean my forehead onto hers.

"Why did you thank me?" She whispers.

"Because you keep tacking my mind of things, having my back and never backing down, even when I am being an asshole. Even though you do it with bad attempts of a joke, I love it and I am grateful for it," I reply and she pushes me away from her.

"Bad attempt...I am very funny and you know it" She says and I can't help but laugh out loud.

"About as funny as a German comedian" I retort and quickly run out of the kitchen, with her hot on my heels.

"You take that back" She shout whispers and manages to latch onto my pants as we are running up the stairs. I nearly face plant and she giggles.

I turn a little around, grab her arm and pull her onto the same step as myself. "Nope" I simply say and run my hands down her torso. "You might need to make me" I whisper into her ear. She gasps as my fingers find their way under the shirt she is wearing and push her poor excuse for underwear out of the way.

I find her already wet and push my finger into her. Charlie's eyes grow wide and she looks around, trying to see if either Connor or Alex have woken. "Don't worry they are both asleep" I assure her and start working my finger in and out of her.

Seconds later, I have her exactly where I want and pull my fingers out of her. "Bastard" She mutters and shoots me a glare. I pull my pants down and sit down on the step. "We can't...if Alex wakes..."

"You just have to be quiet." I say and pull her onto my lap. I swallow a groan, as she slips right onto me. "Holy shit" She mumbles and I can already feel that she is close to falling over the edge.

Charlie starts moving on top of me and I can already feel that I won't last long. My stamina has taken a serious down turn, after all those months in the desert and even though I have been back for two weeks now, I have yet to last longer than five minutes. This is slowly getting embarrassing and the worse is when she is on top of me. It feels too damn good.

"Ohhh" she swallows a scream as she comes and clenches around me. She rocks her hips couple more times and I come with a groan of my own.

I don't know for how long we sit there, but as I feel her shiver I pick her and carry her back to the bed room. Once we are back in bed, I draw her close and not long after, her breathing evens out and she is fast asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note**

**So this is most likely the end, hence me putting it on complete. I may write another chapter, but please don't count on it.**

**I am sorry it has taken me so long to complete. Thank you for all your patience, reviews, follows and favorites.**

**It means a lot to me.**

**It is such a shame that Revolution had to end and didn't find a new home. Let's hope we can keep it alive through FF.**

**Lotta love!**

* * *

**Bass POV**

_Three Months later_

"What do you think?" I ask and look at my best friend.

"Technically you don't need to do this… you know" He answers, as helpful as ever.

"I know, but I want to. After everything...I just want to proof, that I am 100% in this" I reply and hang more fairy lights up in the bar. This will be perfect. I know Charlie will love it.

* * *

**Charlie's POV**

_Later that night_

"Bass, where are we going?" I question and wiggle my nose, because the blindfold is tickling me.

"I am not telling you... no matter how many times you ask" The Bastard answers and I can hear a grin in his voice.

"Come on...you know I hate surprises" I sigh, trying to get him to spill the beans.

"You will love this one" Bass assures me.

"So you have been saying" I reply dryly.

Suddenly the car stops and Bass gets out. As much as I am itching to get the blindfold of me, I keep it on, as I do not want to ruin Bass's surprise. It must be something good, because he is dressed in a black suit, with a black dress shirt, but no tie.

"Have I told you, how pretty you look tonight?" He questions, as he helps me out of the car.

"Yes, you have, but I like hearing it, so please keep going" I say and smile, making Bass laugh.

"Ok, ready?" Bass asks, before I can hear him open a door.

"This isn't one of those kinky parties you are dragging me to, is it?" I question and he laughs.

"No, it isn't" He assures me and guides me through the door. "But if you are interested in those, we sure can find one." Bass says in a suggestive tone and I slap his arm playfully in return.

* * *

**Bass's POV**

_Almost six years ago_

_"Bass we cannot afford it!" Charlie whisper shouts, so that she doesn't wake Alex up. Our 5 Months old son, is getting his first teeth and Charlie and I haven't had a decent night sleep for a while. "Let's just get married at the courthouse and be done with it."_

_"Right...so that your mother has another thing she can hold against me. NO WAY" I whisper shout back and look up at her from my position on the couch. "I want to marry you and we are going to do this right!"_

_"Bass" She sighs, obviously as frustrated as I am. "We just put in an offer for a house and now you want to get married and have a big party...we can't afford it."_

_"I will make it work. I will get an extra Tour in" I promise her, but she only shakes her head._

_"I don't like that idea. You are already away so much and you are going away again next week. I don't need a big fancy wedding. The only thing I need is you, Miles, Nora, Alex and my mother there. That is enough. We can go out for dinner after, but that is as far as I am willing to go." Charlie informs me and sits back down on the couch._

_I didn't mean for this to turn into an argument. I asked her to marry me a couple of days ago and tonight we finally spoke about getting married, just to figure out that we have two very different ideas on how our special day should be._

_"Can there at least be a wedding cake?" I question and draw her into my side. If she doesn't want a big wedding, we won't have a big wedding. But at some point in our lives, I will give her the party she would have deserved, that is a promise I am making to myself._

_"Only a tiny one, those things are expensive" She answers and lets her head fall onto my shoulder._

_End of flashback_

I asked Nora to take her shopping for a nice dress and I have to say, as she came down the stairs today, I was blown away.

Charlie is currently wearing a white dress, which is knee length, tight around her breasts and it flairs out in 1960's style. A black lacy band is tied around her stomach and she is wearing a thick black jacket to keep her warm.

"Why are we at Revolution?" Charlie asks, as I take the blindfold of.

I wink at her and open the door. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome for the first time Mr &amp; Mrs Monroe!" The DJ says through the microphone and all our friends and family cheer and clap loudly.

"Bass...you didn't" Charlie turns around with a bright smile on her face.

"I did...as you can see. We couldn't afford it all those years ago, I figured it was about time we had that big party you would have deserved all those years ago" I tell her and draw her in for a kiss.

* * *

"Ok...ok...No MORE!" Charlie says and flops down on the chair next to me, making me laugh. "It's not funny Mr. Monroe! My feet hurt like hell!" She adds and slaps my arm.

"Your are right it is not funny" I nod and try to hide my grin, while pulling up her feet onto my lap. "You should take a break from dancing" I point out and start massaging her feet.

"Ohhh that is sooo good" My wife moans and another part of my anatomy wakes up. "Yes I should, but there are a couple of people I still need to dance with" She says and shoots me a pointed look.

"Hey...not my fault" I retort and hold my hands up in defense.

"Put those back to my feet, soldier" Charlie grins and points at my hands.

"Yes Mam" I salute and resume my task. "Like i said not my fault. Every time I wanted to dance with you, someone else asked you first."

"Could I please get your attention for one second?" Miles questions from the front of the bar, next to the DJ booth and I stop what I am doing and look at my best friend. "Thank you... I was the best man on their wedding day and I wasn't allowed to give a speech back then, I think it's more than fair and appropriate that I get to do it now.

Bass comes up to me many, many years ago and tells me that he is dating my 17 year old niece. As you can imagine, I didn't like it one bit and in return I punched his lights out; told him she deserved better than him."

"You never told me that" Charlie whispers in shock and scoots closer to me.

"Babe, water under the bridge. Let him finish his story" I shrug my shoulders and kiss her head.

"But my niece set me straight a couples of days later. She told me, that Bass makes her happy...Charlie always had a strong mind and believe me when I tell you she actually stomped her foot on the ground, as she told me to butt out of her life" That gets a laughter out of the crowd and Charlie's face flushes of embarrassment.

"You see... I have known Bass my whole life. We went to school together, we enlisted and served together. I think I was equally worried about them both. I didn't want the two most important people in my life get hurt.

Charlie is sweet, determined and has had her own mind since she was only a year old. Bass is smug, self-assured and arrogant…"

"HEY HEY" I shout making everybody look at me. "I am not that bad."

"I was getting to that" Miles huffs out and rolls his eyes. "...So he is smug, self-assured, arrogant and a right pain in the ass…" With the last part he looks directly at me with a grin, making everybody laugh again. "But he is also loyal and honest to a fault. To be fair, I couldn't find or think of a better man date my little niece."

"I wasn't that little" Charlie mutters under her breath and I snort, which earns me another slap on the arm.

"Charlie and Bass had their ups and downs over the years, but they have come out stronger and happier. So please raise a glass to Charlie and Bass...we wish the two of you all the happiness and luck in the world. Cheers" Miles concludes and takes a big gulp out of his champagne glass. He hates giving speeches and it means the world to me that he did this.

"MOOOM" Alex shouts through the microphone, which he obviously snatched from Miles and all of us cringe at the noise that comes through the speakers. "Can do it now?" He questions through the microphone and I look at Charlie, who jumped up and is already half way through the room as Alex adds with a big grin "Dad, I am going to be a big brother" before letting the mike fall to the ground and unbuttoning his dress shirt. A big arrow is pointing to his face and beneath is written 'Big Brother', next to him Miles unbuttons his shirt too, but his says 'This Guy is going to be an uncle again in 7.5 Months'

I takes me a moment to register, that the whole room has fallen silent and is looking at me, including my wife, who is now standing behind our son with a smile on her face. Another moment passes, before my brain registers what Alex actually said. _Holy shit!_

My face splits into a huge grin and I quickly walk up to my wife. "Holy crap" I say before my lips crash onto hers.

"EWWWW that is gross" Alex whines and we break apart.

"How long have you known?" I question and look over at Miles's shirt.

"A couple of months...I didn't want to say anything, because of your therapy. And then I wanted to do it tonight after dinner, but it turned out to be this…" Charlie says and motions with her arms around her. "So I had Nora quickly get those shirts from home and I told Alex we would show it to you later...seems like he couldn't wait anymore….Are you mad? I mean we didn't plan this and…."

Before she can say anymore I cut her off with another kiss. "This time I get to pick the name" I say and smile at her, after we come up for air.

"No way! I will not name our child Danger" She says, guessing where my mind is going.


End file.
